Valley Under Curfew, Military Rule as Blind Nationalism Does NOT Recognise Kashmiri People as Indian and the Manusmriti Hegemony has ISOLATED the Region so much so that IT is almost the POINT of NO RETURN!

Valley Under Curfew, Military Rule as Blind Nationalism Does NOT Recognise Kashmiri People as Indian and the Manusmriti Hegemony has ISOLATED the Region so much so that IT is almost the POINT of NO RETURN!

I have some personal experiences of army rule in Riot torn Uttar Pradesh for a few days only. I witnessed the Absolute behavior of Indian armed forces in some parts of the North east in India including Manipur. It is horrible. The hegemony uses Indian security forces at will. It is more dangerous than any kind of Terrorism itself!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - Four Hundred Fouteen

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

Valley Under Curfew, Military Rule!

The Himalayas continues to Bleed as Most of the Northeast is under AFSPA since 1958.

Separatists have called people to organize 48-hour sit-in in localities across the valley "against the civilian killings". There were chants of protest in several mosques in Srinagar since the morning. Demonstrations were also held at Maisuma and Tengpora areas of Srinagar city before the army patrolled the streets.

"The army will be deployed as long as it is necessary, but I sincerely hope it will not be necessary for too long," Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

He appealed to residents to observe the curfew and to parents to keep their teenage sons — who have been at the forefront of some of the violent protests — indoors.

"It is important that people do not come into the street and start stone pelting," he said.

Indian army soldiers in armored vehicles and carrying assault rifles and machine guns drove Thursday through neighborhoods in Srinagar, the main city, in a show of force.

Col. Vineet Sood, an Indian army spokesman, said the soldiers were giving support to the local forces. "We are ready to move anywhere, anytime," he said.
However, there were risks that using the army — instead of the police and paramilitary troops that usually deal with civil unrest — could further inflame residents, who accuse the military of being a brutal occupying force.


But the Kashmir case has worsened beyond repair as the Ruling Global Hindutva has intensified anti Muslim hatred campign and the State holds Pakistan Responsible for the turmoil resultant in MISRULE and Tyrrny Infinite!It was after more than 15 years that the army columns were patrolling both uptown and downtown Srinagar. Flag marches were also held in several other districts like Budgam and south Kashmir's Anantnag districts. may we imagine the situation in which the lifeline as well as Humanity trapped in Kashmir valley?

I have some personal experiences of army rule in Riot torn Uttar Pradesh for a few days only. I witnessed the Absolute behavior of Indian armed forces in some parts of the North east in India including Manipur. It is horrible. The hegemony uses Indian security forces at will. It is more dangerous than any kind of Terrorism itself!

The army started pouring onto the streets from Srinagar's Badamibagh cantonment area early in the morning. It staged a flag march up to the Srinagar airport and then to the interiors of Srinagar, including trouble areas like Lal Chowk, Dal Gate, old Srinagar and Batamallo, where three people died on Tuesday in security forces' firing.


Blind Nationalism Does NOT Recognise Kashmiri People as Indian and the Manusmriti Hegemony has ISOLATED the Region so much so that IT is almost the POINT of NO RETURN!We do share tears for the Kashmiri Pundits but have NO sympathy for the Common Kashmiri Masses suffering for so long. No space for democracy EXPOSED within the Aboriginal landscpae in the Mainland is abundant in the valey and any Resistance is branded as resiistance, we do not treat KASHMIR as the Integral Part of the Nation as we treat other parts of the country. Civic and Human rights violated daily and we do tend to be concerned with Internal security subjective to our relations with a foreign land. Is it not suicidal?

Thus,Concerned at the spate of incidents of violence in the Kashmir valley, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the face of the zionist global Hindutva within the Manusmriti hegemony, on Wednesday, expressed solidarity with the security forces deployed in the region. BJP Spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that a high morale of the security forces was crucial to India's security interests adding that the party is committed to motivate the armed forces in Kashmir.As amusing is the stance of the India Incs Hindutva government sustaining Manusmriti Rule of genocide culture and Free Market Democracy at the same time as the Union Home Ministry has said that it has evidence that some of the violence in the Kashmir Valley is being planned and instigated.

In a clear message to those fomenting violence in Kashmir, the Centre has asked the state to deal "sternly" with the "anti-nationals and vested interests" creating unrest in the valley.The army on Wednesday extended its assistance to the state government to clam situation, which was spiraling out of control after killings of 15 persons in protesters-security forces' clashes since June 11. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's government had formally sought support from the Centre to use
the army as "deterrent" and to "assist in imposing curfew and maintaining basic law and order".
Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, confirmed that the state government had formally asked for army support "in restoring order in Srinagar."

The army has always been India's first and last resort in handling Kashmir," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key separatist leader, said in a statement. "Its ever-increasing presence in the state, whether in the barracks or on the streets, has been intended to consolidate its control over the territory and to intimidate people."

The Indian army is ubiquitous in Kashmir, but its operations are usually aimed at combating insurgents and it has not been used in crowd control since major street protests in 1990.


India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the region. India regularly accuses Pakistan of sending insurgents over the heavily militarized frontier to stir trouble and has blamed the recent protests on Pakistani-based militants bent on destabilizing India, a charge Pakistan denies.

Kashmiri separatists are demanding independence from Hindu-majority India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Even with the curfew in force, hundreds of doctors and other employees at the S.K. Institute of Medical Sciences, a government hospital in Srinagar, held a protest inside their compound, denouncing the restrictions and chanting anti-India slogans. Police and paramilitary troops later dispersed them, a police officer said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

On Wednesday night, thousands of protesters defied the restrictions and held street protests for several hours. Pro-independence songs rang out overnight from the public address systems of several mosques, as they had in the months before the insurgency broke out two decades ago. Troops did not intervene and no clashes broke out.

With authorities canceling curfew passes given to journalists, none of nearly 60 newspapers published from Srinagar hit the stands Thursday. Many reporters spent the night in their offices.

"Not allowing media persons to move and cover the situation is tantamount to banning the media," the Press Guild of Kashmir said, denouncing "curbs and the use of force against media persons."


Home Secretary G K Pillai chaired a high-level meeting late last night to review the situation in the Valley during which he asked the officials to ensure that no guilty person be allowed to go scot-free and efforts should be made to ensure safety of innocent civilians, official sources said today.

The meeting was attended by Jammu and Kashmir DGP Kuldeep Khoda, Special DG CRPF N K Tripathi, Commander of Army's 15 Corps Lt Gen G S Marwah, Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen A M Verma and senior officials of central security agencies.

He told the officials that anti-national and vested interests were behind the ongoing unrest in the valley and they need to be dealt with sternly, they said.
Pillai asked security agencies to make efforts to nab those people who were responsible for funding the current unrest, sources said.

Earlier, Pillai also met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and reviewed the overall law and order situation.
Pillai assured the Chief Minister of complete support of the Centre in maintaining peace in the valley.

Tens of thousands of soldiers patrolled the streets in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday to enforce a rigid curfew aimed at ending weeks of violent anti-government protests.

Shops and schools were closed, streets ringed with barbed wire were deserted, the region's nearly 60 newspapers were unable to publish and even residents with special curfew passes were barred from going outside.

Despite the curfew, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella organization of separatist groups, issued a statement calling for more protests, saying, "Military measures will in no way be able to break the will of the people."

The tension in the Himalayan region — divided between India and Pakistan — was reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against Indian rule sparked an armed conflict that eventually killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.

Residents say security forces have killed 15 people in the recent protests. The government's decision to send the army to quell the protests was intended to prevent them from spiraling out of control and igniting another insurgency.

As curfew was clamped in more areas of Kashmir, Home Minister P Chidambaram today hoped Army would not be required there for too long and appealed to people of the valley to observe restrictions. He said major share of patrolling and law enforcement was being done by the state police and CRPF and Army was on standby in case there was need for its deployment.Menawhile,a tenuous peace prevailed in Srinagar and the Kashmir Valley with no major incident of violence reported Thursday, as the army conducted flag marches for the second day to enforce the indefinite curfew imposed after several deaths when security forces fired on violent protesters.Srinagar wore a deserted look on Thursday as indefinite curfew continued in the Kashmir Valley. Paramilitary forces, who along with the Indian army personnel patrolled the streets as most markets remained closed and no vehicles plied, said that the imposed curfew would improve the situation in the valley.

Sopore and old parts of Baramulla were also placed under curfew as a precautionary measure.

The Home Minister said Kashmir witnessed "two very minor incidents" of violence yesterday but today he was yet to receive any report on the situation. "Army was deployed at the request of government of Jammu and Kashmir.Contrarily,Television channel NDTV quoted senior ministry sources, as saying that security officials were examining several intercepts between different individuals and extremist elements that reveal deliberate attempts at not just ensuring violence, but even deaths.

The channel said it has access to some of the intercepts and one recording is as recent as this morning.

It claimed that it had a taped conversation between two separatists-Ghulam Ahmad Dar and Shabir Ahmed Wani-in which they refer to a protest rally in Budgam and of money changing hands.

"You are getting money, but not doing enough. There must be some more deaths. Ten to fifteen more people should be martyred," the recorded conversation reveals.

The sources say there is recognition of genuine protest and anger in the Valley, but add that "mischief makers" are taking advantage of that anger.

A day after Union Home Secretary G.K.Pillai's visit to Srinagar, the Omar Abdullah-led Government in Jammu and Kashmir has been told to crack down on the mischief-makers, arrest them and enforce curfew completely.

I am not at liberty to disclose where it has been deployed. But I can assure that most of the places affected are still being patrolled and curfew enforced by J and K Police and paramilitary forces," he told reporters here.

His comments while briefing on decisions of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs came as more areas of Kashmir were brought under curfew today. Underlining that the purpose of moving in the Army was to "serve as a deterrent", he said, "Army has been kept ready in case it becomes necessary to deploy them.

" Chidambaram said Army will be in Kashmir "as long as it is necessary" to deal with the situation there. "But I sincerely hope that it will not be necessary for too long.

" He emphasised that people should not come out of their homes during curfew and pelt stones. "I appeal to Jammu and Kashmir people to observe curfew and stay indoors.

Curfew is in place for a couple of days. I am sure the J and K government will be able to relax curfew in a couple of days," he said.

"Parents should ensure that their children remain indoors. It is the responsibility of parents," the Home Minister said, adding "It is important that curfew is enforced and observed by everybody.

'There was no relaxation in the indefinite curfew that was imposed here Wednesday. People stayed indoors and the law and order situation was under control throughout the Valley,' a senior police officer told IANS Thursday evening.

'The curfew was imposed to protect civilian life and property from the designs of anti-social elements and it will not remain in force a minute longer than it is required,' he added.

As the army carried out more flag marches in the peripheral areas of the summer capital to ensure observance of the curfew, the central government has decided to send additional paramilitary troops to augment those already deployed in the Valley.

'The first batch of additional deployments of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would arrive here tomorrow (Friday),' a senior police officer said here.

Meanwhile, the administration has cancelled all the curfew passes.

Residents in curfew-bound uptown and old city areas, reached on phone, said their areas were facing a crisis of water and electric supply shortages because the employees of these essential services had not been issued curfew passes by the authorities so far.

'We have been facing acute shortage of water and electricity as employees maintaining these services in our area have not reported for duties for the second day today (Thursday),' said Mehraj-ud-Din, a resident of old city here.

Reports from Sopore, Baramulla, Kupwara and Handwara towns in north Kashmir, and Anantnag, Koimoh, Pulwama and Kakpora in south Kashmir said curfew continued there without any relaxation Thursday and no major untoward incident had occurred anywhere in these areas.

All scheduled examinations to be held by the Kashmir University as well as various professional exams by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission have been postponed.

In a statement here, Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) appealed the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene in Kashmir to address the extremely volatile situation here.

'If the prime minister does not intervene at this juncture, I fear all mainstream political parties would become irrelevant in Kashmir,' she said.

Separatist leaders behind Kashmir violence

IBNLive.com - ‎6 minutes ago‎
New Delhi: Leaders of separatist organisation Hurriyat Conference are behind the sudden spurt in incidents of stonepelting on security forces. Intercepts of conversation between hardline leaders of Syed Ali Shah Geelani's Hurriyat faction which is with ...

Did separatists plan, instigate Kashmir violence?

Times of India - ‎2 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI: Involvement of hardline separatists in engineering some of the violence in the Kashmir valley is indicated by an intercepted conversation between two of them during which they discussed killing of at least 15 people in a procession near ...

Kashmir intercept: "10-15 people more must be martyred"

NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
New Delhi: After a high-level meeting in Srinagar, sources in the Home Ministry say there is evidence of how some of the violence in the Valley is being instigated and planned. Sources say officials are now looking at a number of intercepted ...

Home Ministry says Kashmir Valley violence being planned, instigated

Sify - ‎2 hours ago‎
The Union Home Ministry has said that it has evidence that some of the violence in the Kashmir Valley is being planned and instigated. Television channel NDTV quoted senior ministry sources, as saying that security officials were examining several ...

LeT behind latest Kashmir violence?

indiablooms - ‎2 hours ago‎
Srinagar/New Delhi, July 8 (IBNS) The Indian home ministry sources said it has evidence that the latest cycle of violence in Kashmir is instigated by extremist elements, according to reports on Thursday. Both national channels NDTV and Time Now reports ...
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Meanwhile, Home Minister, P. Chidambaram said in Delhi the army was deployed in Srinagar as a 'deterrent', with the police and paramilitary forces maintaining the law and order here.

'The army has been kept ready. The purpose of deployment of the army was a deterrent effect. Police and paramilitary forces are maintaining the law and order,' he told reporters.

Chidambaram said the army would be deployed in Srinagar 'as long as it is necessary'.

'And I hope it will not be necessary for too long,' he said, adding the curfew should be enforced 'and observed by everybody for the next two-three days'.

The minister appealed to parents in the valley not to allow their children to violate the curfew and stone security personnel.

'Our appeal to the people of Jammu and Kashmir is - observe the curfew, stay indoors. It is important that people don't come into the streets and start stone pelting. Parents must ensure that their children, young boys should remain indoors,' he said.

Home Secretary G. K. Pillai, on the completion of visit to Kashmir, said the state government needed to crackdown more sternly on anti-social elements and trouble-makers.

During his visit, Pillai, Director General Military Operations, Lt Gen A.M. Verma, Srinagar-based 15th Corps commander Lt Gen G.S. Marwah and state Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda had a four-hour law and order review meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Social activist demands probe into Maoist leader killing

Indian monk-turned social activist Swami Agnivesh in Kolkata on Wednesday condemned the killing of Maoist senior leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad by police officials, reportedly in an encounter. Swami Agnivesh demanded that the central government should probe the matter to ascertain whether it was an encounter or fake encounter since he believed Azad's death is a major setback towards the peace process with the rebels.

Maoists 'all India shutdown' hits normal life

The 48-hour 'all India shutdown' called by the Maoists to protest the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad affected normal life in the five States of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.
In Orissa, the Naxal affected areas such as Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Malkangri and Sundergadh have been placed on high alert.
The public transport here remained off the roads due to the shutdown, which created a lot of troubles for the daily commuters.
"Due to this shutdown there is no transport. People are facing a lot of difficulty," said Ganesh Mahato, a resident of Rayagada.
The police here have deployed personnel in full strength and are carrying out extensive checks of all the vehicles entering Rayagada region since midnight.
"With help of CRPF, we are doing a massive checking and we have deployed police on all the exit and entry routes of Rayagada. We are also carrying out specific combing projects in the suspected areas," said Anoop Krishna, Superintendent of Police, Rayagada.
In Bihar's Patna city, Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa addressing senior officers of East Central Railway mentioned that to find a concrete solution to the security problem of the railways in the Naxal affected areas of India, the Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers of all Naxal-affected States.
"We are continuously making our efforts to address this problem and we hope we will try to solve this problem. And, I appeal to the people this is your property. You have given blood and sweat to produce this project for last so many years," said Muniyappa.
"This has to be protected and State has to cooperate, State police has to cooperate where we have to address the attacks of the Maoists. That is why the honourable Home Minister has called a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Naxal-affected States," he added.
Andhra Pradesh police reportedly killed Azad in an encounter in the Jogapur forest area of Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad District early on Friday morning last week, while he was attempting to cross into neighbouring Maharashtra.zad was a member of the central committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and carried a reward of 1.2 million rupees on his head.
Azad, who did his MTech in Warangal, was linked to the Maoist movement for more than 35 years and used to write articles for magazines on Maoist ideology.
There are reports that Azad was assigned the task of revising the Maoist movement in India.
Maoist attacks have increased this year, especially after the Government launched a coordinated security offensive involving tens of thousands of police trying to flush out the rebels from their jungle hideouts in central and eastern India. (ANI)

ANI

Induction of Army into Kashmir in tune with national policy

New Delhi, July 8 (ANI): The cycle of violence that has enveloped Kashmir for almost a month now has finally led to the decision of calling in the Army in support of the Police and the Paramilitary forces. This is the time to evolve new ideas that provide viable long term options to deal with the problem.
First and foremost, all democratic and freedom loving forces in the country should stand steadfast in support of the government of Jammu and Kashmir and its Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Not many Chief Ministers in Kashmir have completed their terms, even the grandfather and father of the present incumbent have resigned from the post of Chief Minister at some point in time. The previous government fell under similar circumstances of turmoil just two years ago.
Historically, removal of a government has not brought about any change in the politico-social environment of the Valley, therefore, this is not the solution to the problem. On the other hand it would result in yet another victory for such forces in the Valley who indulge in causing disruption.
This is not the first time in India that the Army has been called out in aid of civil authority. Kashmir need not be seen through a prism that is different from the rest of the Nation and the decision should be viewed as one taken in concert with national policy for dealing such situations. In other words, the emotional hype that is being given to this decision is misplaced and it should not be allowed to gain political credence.
The Army has, very rightly, been given the mandate to maintain peace through the medium of flag marches and imposition of curfew. Some other forces have the responsibility of crowd control. This decision maintains the stature of the J and K Police and Para military forces who are primarily responsible for maintaining law and order. However, should the need arise, the Army should not shy away from using force to maintain peace.
The responsibility for this cycle of violence is sought to be put on the youth of Kashmir. The implication is that, due to a violent childhood spent in the shadow of the gun and lack of employment opportunities, they see no light in the end of the tunnel and the resultant anger and frustration is erupting in the form of spontaneous agitations.
This perception is divorced from reality. In comparison with the rest of the Nation, Kashmir is well placed in terms of both literacy and poverty indices. There are others who are much worse off, but they do not come out in the streets and vent their frustration and anger.
Secondly, while the world is getting globalised Kashmir is being guided by its leaders towards geo-political isolation. If you do not welcome investment, do not provide land for commercial use, do not give security for commercial enterprise and on top of it do not leave your home town to look for employment outside, how can you progress? The leaders and elders should advise the youth to put the past behind them, get over this ghetto mentality, shun hatred , abjure mindless rage to direct their energies towards achievement orientation like the rest of the youth of the country.
A word about the so called spontaneous nature of these agitations. One cannot help but discern a distinct pattern being followed year after year which leaves doubts about their spontaneity. It is also a known fact that some political segments in the Valley use disruption as a tool to achieve their objectives . While living in luxurious comfort they give unending calls for Hartals and Bandhs with little thought to the inconvenience and economic loss being caused to the poor people.
Against this backdrop, while ruthlessly cracking down upon the disruptive elements the Government should prepare itself to deal with such upheavals. Training the police in riot t control should be given top priority and the quality of policing should be enhanced through additional recruitment, purchase of modern riot control equipment and specialised training.
The debate on Kashmir should involve a wider section of society.
Jammu and Ladakh are also stake holders and their people need to be involved in the discussion process. Retired officials who have served in Kashmir, intelligentsia including Kashmiri Pundits, businessmen, scholars, analysts and journalists should be involved in evolving a holistic understanding of the problem.
Presently, selected Kashmiri politicians and leaders are invited to express their views on pre- decided agendas.
The decisions are mostly inconclusive. It is often said the most complex problems have simple solutions. Kashmir will emerge from the existing despondency through a simple, realistic, step by step approach. By Jaibans Singh (ANI)

            Stop Killings of Innocent Civilians in Kashmir: PUDR   

   
                         
       
                                            
        
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Srinagar, July 06: People's Union for Democratic Rights, a human rights group, today described the killings of innocent civilians by the government forces in Kashmir as highly undemocratic and said it showed the callous attitude of Indian establishment towards the people of Kashmir.
PUDR released the following statement to the press.
There has been continuous unrest since the Machil killings by the Indian Army in late April this year. The military had claimed that it had foiled an infiltration bid by killing three militants. Subsequent investigations revealed that the men killed by the Indian Army were the missing relatives of three families in Baramulla district. The exhumed bodies of these three are amongst the very few identified bodies out of more than 400 buried in the graveyard at Kalaroos in Kupwara.
It was in protest against this cold blooded murder by the Army that people had again taken to streets on 11 June 2010. During this protest a class XII student was shot at and died. The police tried to cover it up as a murder by some unknown youth. This sparked more anger and protests but it did not deter the police and CRPF from opening fire on protesters time and again in the last 20 days consequently taking 11 lives in the prime of their youth and injuring many.
The deaths symbolize a continuing trail of oppression of people of Kashmir. It is a known fact that the pervasive military and paramilitary presence in Kashmir has generated much resentment amongst the people. Neither the state government nor the Indian Government has taken any steps to address their grievances. The current chief minister had made electoral promises of initiating dialogue with Indian state and Kashmir pro freedom leaders regarding autonomy and revocation of AFSPA but no steps have been taken thus far. The approach of Indian state has been highly militaristic, reinforced in the way recent protests have been dealt with. Firing on protesters has been rationalized by Home Secretary of India, G.K Pillai, for they indulged in stone pelting and defied curfew. Instead of recognizing the legitimate anger of people of Kashmir, Home Minister P. Chidambaram could find the hand of LeT and outside funding in the protests. It again underlines an unwillingness to accept the democratic aspirations of the people of Kashmir by branding them as 'terrorists' from outside Kashmir.
PUDR strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force and firing on protesters and reaffirms its solidarity with the struggle of people of Kashmir. PUDR demands an immediate independent inquiry into the killings of protestors to punish the guilty unlike the cover up in the Shopian rape and killings case last year. PUDR urges the Government to seriously explore ways for a political solution to the conflict in Kashmir.
http://www.kashmirobserver.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4926:stop-killings-of-innocent-civilians-in-kashmir-pudr&catid=3:regional-news&Itemid=4
Maoists attack police station, Cong leader''s house, 2 killed

Maoists today attacked a police station and the house of a Congress leader in Chhattisgarh''s Dantewada district, killing two of his relatives and leaving two others injured, including his son. Armed Naxalites struck at the Kuakonda police station in the district in the wee hours, drawing retaliation from the police personnel.

Police said that six Naxalites were killed in the attack. However, their bodies were yet to be recovered.

After that they attacked the house of Congress leader Avdesh Gautam in nearby Nakulnar village. Five security personnel posted at Gautam''s house retaliated, a police spokesman said.

In the attack, two relatives of the Congress leader were killed and two others injured, including his son and a security personnel.

Kashmir Freedom Movement

                                                                       

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This article was nominated for deletion. The debate was closed on 20 June 2009 with a consensus to merge the content into the article Insurgency in Kashmir#Militant_groups. If you find that such action has not been taken promptly, please consider assisting in the merger instead of re-nominating the article for deletion. To discuss the merger, please use the destination article's talk page.

The Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM) is a movement for the complete independence and reunification of all parts of the Kashmir Region.[citation needed] It is headquartered at Dadyal, Mirpur District in Pakistan Administered Kashmir.[citation needed] The movement has argued for the inclusion and representation of the Kashmiri people in talks between Pakistan and India about the region.[citation needed] President of Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM) is Sardar Aftab Ahmad Khan[1]

Contents [hide] 1 Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM) Aims and Objectives 2 Goals of the Kashmir Freedom Movement 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM) Aims and Objectives

(KFM) has actively campaigned for the freedom and independence of the State of Kashmir from all foreign occupation since 1972.
Members of the Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM) have been quoted as saying, "To oppress and do injustice to others is sin but to accept the life of oppression and injustice is an even greater sin."[citation needed]
Members of KFM oppose the militarisation of the Kashmir region and seek to regain their sovereignty and independence and re-establish their status as a nation state in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations so that they can live in peace and harmony within the community of nations. The KFM believes that Kashmir belongs to all who live in it without distinction of religion, and that it is not a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan but is a question of the right of self-determination of 14 million people of the region.

[edit] Goals of the Kashmir Freedom Movement

• Making efforts for the Return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Kashmir valley
• India and Pakistan should withdraw all their Military, Para-military, and other forces from Kashmir simultaneously
• All human rights violations at the hands of armed forces and their backed militants must end now.
• The freedom of speech and movement of civilians, politicians and humanitarian workers through out Kashmir without any restriction should be allowed with immediate effect.
• United Nations should facilitate in holding free and fair elections for a representative Council comprising of members from all faiths, regions and political ideals. This council will represent and negotiate on the settlement of the Kashmir dispute with India and Pakistan.
• After a mutually agreed time frame of all concerned a free and fair plebiscite should be held through which Kashmiris should be allowed to determine their future by exercising their universally recognized unconditional right of self-determination.

.

[edit] See also

• History of Jammu and Kashmir - History post partition is covered on this page.
• History of the Kashmir conflict - Information about the conflict is covered here.
• Azad Kashmir
• Northern Areas
• Jammu and Kashmir
• Indian Administered Kashmir
• Pakistan Administered Kashmir
• Indian Kashmir barrier
• Terrorism in Kashmir
• Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
• Jammu Kashmir Development Foundation
• The Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Front, JKFF

[edit] References

1. ^ Need to include Kashmiris in talks stressed Dawn

[edit] External links

• Kashmir Freedom Movement
• Jammu Kashmir Development Foundation

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Freedom_Movement"
                                                                 
Categories: National liberation movements | Jammu and Kashmir freedom struggle | Nonviolent resistance movements

Politics of competitive communalism, says BJP of Kashmir situation

The 'explosive' situation in the Kashmir Valley is the result of the 'politics of competitive communalism' between the National Conference and the opposition PDP and the lack of timely action by the central government, which was in turn being exploited by Pakistan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Thursday.
The BJP demanded that the central government identify the role of Pakistani agencies 'in sponsoring and financing these protests through separatists'.
In a statement, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar equated the present situation in the Valley to that of the Hazratbal controversy in 1963-64 when massive protests broke out over the disappearance of a hair believed to be of Prophet Mohammad kept in the shrine, and 'the military had to play a role then and it has to play a role now as well'.
He said the government must ensure law and order at any cost in the valley and keep tight vigil during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, which the separatists were trying to target in order to create tension.
'The tense situation is the result of the politics of competitive communalism resorted to by both the PDP (People's Democratic Party) and National Conference, and no timely action from the central government. Separatists got encouragement out of such politics and Pakistan exploited it to the hilt,' Javadekar said.
He also alleged that when separatists devised stone-pelting as an instrument of organized and orchestrated protest, the government failed to curb the trend. And added that instead of acting tough against the professional stone pelters, the government declared a rehabilitation package for such 'surrendered stone pelters'.
He accused the government of demoralising the security forces. His statement said: 'The government allowed the situation to drift further. It booked CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel for the death of a youth in the protest on the charges of murder... The senior minister of Omar Abdulla government, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar, went ahead with defaming and casting aspersions on CRPF. All this demoralized the security forces.'
The BJP demanded that the government must take all parties into confidence about its plans to defuse the situation in the valley.
Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Srinagar and other major towns of the valley, enforced with the army's assistance, following violent protests after the deaths of four people two days ago.


Emergence of Hindu Taliban in India



by   Asif Haroon Raja


India is the architect of terrorism and has always used terrorism as an instrument to browbeat its neighbors. It is still using this weapon against Pakistan to serve its ends but pretends to be innocent as a lamb and sobs in front of the world that it is the victim of terrorism. It is the typical case of a wolf standing upstream accusing a lamb drinking water from downstream that it is muddying the water and makes it a pretext to eat up the lamb.



Living up to its reputation of being among the most deceitful and wicked nations, India engineered terror attacks in Mumbai. These were stage managed on 26 November 2008 in order to create an excuse to stall composite dialogue that had reached an advanced stage after four rounds of talks and in the next meeting result oriented decisions were to be taken on all chronic issues that had bedeviled Indo-Pak relations. These included Siachen, Sir Creek, dams on rivers and above all core issue of Kashmir . Within hours of the incident when everything was hazy and utter chaos reigned in whole of India , Pakistan was blamed. India pointed fingers at Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) and ISI and suspended composite dialogue in a huff.



Mumbai event was also important for India to cover up its abetment and export of terrorism into Pakistan from Afghanistan at a massive scale, since it was getting increasingly difficult to hide it. Pakistan had collected concrete proofs of involvement of RAW in Balochistan. Mumbai event was blown up out of all proportions by India to project India innocent and Pakistan as the villain of peace and thus put Pakistan on the defensive. Ever since, India is posing itself as a victim of terrorism. To sell this theme all over the world, India solicited full support of USA and western world.



The US posing to be a strategic partner of Pakistan lent full support to India and coerced Pakistan to do as told by India . Indo-US-Israeli propaganda machinery already geared towards maligning Pakistan swung into action to intensify its efforts to spread falsehood and to twist facts into half truths. Any act of terror taking place in India or in Afghanistan was pasted on (LeT) and concerted efforts made to establish its linkage with ISI. A case was gradually built up to demonize LeT and project it as other side of all-Qaeda or alternative of al-Qaeda.



After blaming LeT for its involvement in Mumbai carnage, India stood firm on this unsubstantiated allegation and took an mulish stand that unless the named culprits including LeT head Hafiz Said are not taken to task, certain Indian Muslims supposedly in Pakistan not handed over to India and India specific terrorist network not dismantled, talks will not be resumed. Pakistan went out of the way to appease frowning India and offered all possible assistance including joint investigations to help trace the real culprits, but its overtures were rudely spurned since India was never interested in digging the truth and punishing actual offenders.



The single witness and accused Ajmal Kasab arrested by Indian authorities under dubious circumstances is in custody of India since 26/11. He has been convicted and awarded death sentence by a kangaroo court in Mumbai after 15 months of his detention despite his pleadings that he had been implicated and had no role to play. He has been kept away from Pakistani investigative authorities and Interpol despite repeated requests. It was a one-sided affair denying a fair chance to the accused to defend his case. While Kasab has been convicted, his two Indian companions who in all probability were the real culprits were let off since their conviction would have brought India under pressure. Murder of Hemant Karkare has been pushed under the rug and so are the cases against Indian accused led by Lt Col Prohit involved in several terrorist cases that had been pasted on Pakistan .   



Pakistani leaders lacking in moral courage failed to exert any pressure on India to put Prohit and others including several Indian Army officers on trial since death of many Pakistanis had occurred at their hands in a terrorist attack on Samjhota Express train in 2007. They have also utterly failed to even question as to what happened to the trial against Prohit and other co-accused in Malegaon terrorist attacks in which Muslims were the targets. The case had reached an advance stage under Karkare for which he had to lose his life at the hands of Hindu terrorists. The high profile case has been put in a cold freezer since sufficient incriminating evidence had been accumulated and conviction by trial court would have laid bare the huge Hindu terrorist network in working upon the agenda of Hindutva and to malign Pakistan . It had been established that the network was fully backed by Indian military intelligence, extremist political party, RSS and RAW. Several senior Indian officers like Lt Gen Hoon (notorious for training Hindu suicide bombers) were involved in the racket with state patronage.



Indian intelligence agencies to their utter horror have discovered that there is a network of Hindu Taliban in India . Kaldip Nayyar in his write up 'Between the lines' in Lokmat Times of May 13, 2010 revealed that Hindu Taliban are connected with the most notorious extremist Hindu outfit RSS and responsible for bomb blasts at Ajmer Dargah in 2007, Hyderabad Makka Masjid on May 18, 2007, Samjhota Express, Malegaon, Goa. He says that Karkare was eliminated by Hindu extremists. CBI has decided to reopen Makka and Ajmer cases after three years following a linkage of Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu outfit. Accused in two terrorist acts are Lokesh Sharma, Sandeep Dange, Sunil Joshi, Ramji Kasinagar. During operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat, numerous Hindu Taliban were arrested or killed.



In an interview with Times of India Nagpur, dated January 4, 2010, former Inspector General Mahashtra Police and author of book 'Who killed Karkare', SM Mushrif said that Ram Pradham Committee was a distorted and incomplete version of facts. He demanded high level re-investigation into Mumbai incident. The veracity of so-called dossiers handed over by India to Pakistan can be judged from the remarks of Mushrif.       



Instead of putting India in the dock, our rulers, under intense pressure from USA became apologetic and defensive and took hasty actions against JuD, a corollary of LeT and seven of its members are under trials. Even Hafiz Said was arrested but he was let off by the court because of lack of evidence. Desperate to appease the Indians, Rahman Malik stated that involvement of Pakistanis in Mumbai attacks and hiring of a boat from Bandar Abbas in Karachi to Mumbai had been established. This was negated by the then naval chief. Shah Ahmad Qureshi also bent over backwards to conciliate the fuming Indians by stating that all measures are in hand to get hold of the culprits. These actions instead of softening up Indian leaders further stiffened them and they have kept humming nauseating mantra of terrorism. The overall design of India is to get Pakistan declared as a terror abetting state, a failing and ungovernable state, extensively involved in promoting terrorism and unfit to retain nuclear weapons.   

       

Although the world in general has begun to see through the haze and doubt the veracity of claims made by India with regard to Mumbai incident and many are now beginning to believe that the whole show was stage managed by India to achieve sinister objectives, however Jewish controlled Newsweek whose editor is an Indian still firmly believes that it had been perpetrated by LeT. Notwithstanding the enhanced prestige of Pakistan Army because of its effective tackling of terrorism and duly lauded by home and foreign audiences, the Magazine still sees Pakistan as a failing state and a threat to world peace.



===

The writer is a defence analyst who writes exclusively for Asian Tribune. Email: asifharoon7751@yahoo.com

URL:http://awamibharat.blogspot.com/2010/07/israel-and-india-zionism-and-hindutva.html

FE Editorial : Fertiliser, fuel, and now retail?

UPA has been showing some reformist spunk of late. Even as the Opposition continues intense rabble-rousing over the recently announced deregulation of petrol prices, the government is pushing forward a proposal that will ultimately open up the retail sector to unrestricted FDI. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has prepared a discussion paper that makes a strong case for such liberalisation. First, from the first-end to the back-end, the sector is facing really dynamic challenges as consumer demand is growing and evolving. FDI is a good source of the huge end-to-end funding needed to meet this demand. Second, the paper highlights that logistical shortfalls result in around Rs 1 lakh crore of fruits, vegetables and other perishables going waste every year. More funding will mean better technology and infrastructure, which will mean less wastage. Improved availability will yield better prices, helping tame inflation. Third, the paper suggests that riders like those concerning local sourcing and job reservation for local youth can help alleviate public concerns. Finally, a calibrated approach to retail liberalisation is recommended, which would finally lead to the holy grail of FDI in multi-brand retailing. But no amount of logical argumentation can keep the Opposition from baying for blood, as it has been doing on the fuel front. The question is whether the UPA will hold firm and deliver a reform that study after study has shown is in the best interest of both the Indian consumer and farmer.
What the DIPP paper is saying today is not different from what the Economic Survey 2004-05 said: "FDI in retail trade can not only organise a significant part of the largely unorganised domestic retailing, but also invite established global retail brands into the Indian market, thereby creating greater outlets for outsourcing and marketing Indian products." Or from what an exhaustive Icrier study found in 2008: "Profit realisation for farmers selling directly to organised retailers was 60% higher compared with those selling in the mandi." As for the price benefits delivered to consumers, these were found to be more beneficial for low-income groups to whom organised retail represented new opportunities to cherry-pick products and avail discounts. No wonder the PM has been suggesting that the vast separation between farm gate and consumer prices gives us fresh incentive to engage in a debate about opening up the retail sector. It's time though to close the debate and simply open up.


Israel and India, Zionism and Hindutva
by: Achin Vanaik

It was after the Cold War that the Indian establishment's attitude to Palestine could not escape the impact of the overall lurch rightwards of the centre of gravity of the Indian polity. At home this has meant much greater accommodation towards— and acceptance of— Hindutva, which applauds Zionism.
Neither the Indian government, the `foreign policy establishment', the strategic elite, the mainstream media, nor that broader category loosely termed as the Indian middle class are seriously bothered by the plight of the Palestinians, or at all interested in there being a truly just settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

That Israel is a Jewish state, it says, should be welcomed and India should recognize that it is basically a Hindu nation requiring a representative Hindu state. Common to both Hindutva and Zionism is the belief that true democracy is majoritarian and must above all protect Hindus/Hinduism and Jews/Judaism respectively. It cannot and must not, therefore, assign full citizenship rights to other ethnic/religious groupings such as Muslims and Christians in India (Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are subsumed under the label of Hindu since they are faiths originating in a Hindu India) or to the Palestinians or "Israeli Arabs" as they are called in Israel.

The Hindutva are represented above all by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, comprising an estimated 2 million-cadre force organized in some 60,000 branches throughout the country. It also has its political-electoral wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as a host of other organizational offshoots. The RSS-BJP posit as their hostile and dangerous `other' the Muslims, while for Israel it is the Palestinians, mostly Muslim but also Christian. Hindutva thus sees an emotional-ideological affinity between itself and Zionism.

Complementing this presumed cultural affinity between Hindutva and Zionism are the new post-Cold War era strategic compulsions and realignments. Whether the BJP or the Congress Party reigns at the centre— independently or in a coalition— both are committed to deepening the India-Israel-US alliance. After the 2009 Indian elections, the current Congress-led ruling coalition will continue on this path.

Israel is now the second largest supplier of military equipment to India (after Russia, which might well be permanently overtaken in due course by both Israel and the US) and India is now Israel's biggest arms purchaser. In New Delhi, Israel is seen as a key conduit for influencing the US government, which while seeking to consolidate its strategic partnership with India also— to the irritation of India— feels the need to sustain its strategic ties with Pakistan.

In the US much of the politically active Indian diaspora believes that it must emulate and work with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) if it is to establish a powerful and organized lobby in the elite decision-making circles that count in Washington. High-level representatives of both the BJP and the Congress Party have thus made it a point to visit Tel Aviv and to meet AIPAC leaders in the US. In addition, India and Israel are now collaborating ever more closely on anti-terrorism.

India makes occasional noises about Palestinian suffering along with mildly worded criticisms about Israel, but Tel Aviv knows these are pro-forma objections that mean little to nothing. With regard to the Palestinian struggle for justice, India— like the EU— will do two things: it will throw money to Palestinian agencies and pay lip service to its cause. Nothing more. The predominating view in India is, `why should India be more pro-Palestinian than the Arab governments whom subordinate that cause to their own interests?'

So why should India not pursue its perceived national interests, which geopolitically means forging a strategic link with Israel and the US? Some argue that the traditionally non-aligned Indian national interest lay elsewhere— and that there are similarities between the plight of the Palestinians and another long-suffering people.

To wit, connect the Dalit upsurge in India to the solidarity movement for Palestine. Racism must be understood in broader terms as encompassing various forms of exclusionist ideologies founded not just on biologically or physically determined markers, but also on cultural ones. Thus cultural identity markers, when used for the purposes of institutionalized discrimination, are also to be seen as forms of racist injustice. Both casteism and Zionism come into this category of culturally based discriminations. You do not have to be a Palestinian to empathize with the Palestinian cause. Palestinians are fighting for much more than just their national liberation; they are fighting for progressives everywhere.
==========
Achin Vanaik is a Professor of International Relations and Global Politics in the Political Science Department of Delhi University.

People's Democracy, Security Of Life And Their Welfare Are Non-Negotiable

A very large gathering of social organizations and citizens of repute and social standing who met in Delhi on 04th August, 2009 to discuss the issues arising out of continued escalation of armed conflict in many parts of India, resolved that people's right to life and security, their welfare in a democratic society can not be compromised or negotiated under any circumstance.
The resolution adopted at this deliberations notes with responsibility that [quote] In the context of Pakistan, the Prime Minister has said: "I was told that Mumbai was the work of non-state actors. I said this gave little satisfaction and that it was the duty of their government to ensure that such acts were not perpetrated from their territory." What is applicable to the Government of Pakistan must be equally applicable to the Government of India and the Government of Chhattisgarh, which continues to support and promote the illegal activities of the Salwa Judum and Special Police Officers [unquote].
The full text of the Resolution adopted follows
04th August 2009, New Delhi
We are a group of people concerned about the escalating armed confrontation between the CPI (Maoist) and Government forces.
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh recently said "dialogue and engagement is the best way forward… Unless we want to go to war with Pakistan, dialogue is the only way out." Surely, the fallout of waging war on one's own citizens is as serious, and perhaps more so, than the fallout of war between two states. Yet, from all accounts, the government is planning a major military offensive after the monsoons across several states, in an effort to wipe out the CPI (Maoist). This attempt to replicate the recently concluded war in Sri Lanka, will involve a similar huge cost in civilian lives, which is unacceptable in any country which claims to be a constitutional democracy.
The military build-up by the government is accompanied by the increasing use of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and the enactment of security laws, which penalize ordinary freedom of expression. It has also involved, as in Chhattisgarh, the use of non-state actors like Salwa Judum  to terrorise villagers, burn their homes and force them into camps or outside the state. Over a thousand people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced and rendered destitute by the Salwa Judum, SPOs and security forces acting in concert. In the context of Pakistan, the Prime Minister has said: "I was told that Mumbai was the work of non-state actors. I said this gave little satisfaction and that it was the duty of their government to ensure that such acts were not perpetrated from their territory." What is applicable to the Government of Pakistan must be equally applicable to the Government of India and the Government of Chhattisgarh, which continues to support and promote the illegal activities of the Salwa Judum and Special Police Officers (SPOs). In addition, even when the Supreme Court has ordered that the Chhattisgarh government give compensation and rehabilitate victims of Salwa Judum and security forces, the CG Government has taken no action whatsoever.
The Home Minister's statement that development work can be carried out only after security is established by the government forces in the region is against all the principles of citizenship. It also views security in narrow terms as the security of the state, ignoring the real need of ordinary people to be secure from arbitrary arrests, killings and displacement. The police and security view of Naxalism as purely a law and order problem, which justifies the need for more security forces, more police stations and better weaponry ignores the socio-economic context which gave rise to Naxalism in the first place, including concerted corruption and harassment of the poor by the police in these areas.  The militaristic approach of the Government of India and of the state governments to a situation which is an outcome of their own systematic and criminal neglect over the years of such underdeveloped regions, largely populated by the adivasis and dalits, cannot be allowed to become 'the solution' towards the resolution of the ongoing conflict. Indeed, the usual insensitivity of the administration and of the forces often from other states has often given it the character of an ethnic war in the affected areas, as is being witnessed in Lalgarh or Dantewada.
The Maoists, whose ideology already rests on armed struggle, have responded to the State offensive through further militarization. They are killing policemen, security personnel and those they deem informants, leading to an escalating spiral of violence. All lives are valuable, whether that of the police or ordinary villagers. While they claim to draw their support from the people, their actions are putting at risk the very people they are fighting for, a risk that people are virtually being forced to take.
While the government and the Maoists are engaged in military offensives, the real issues that concern the people have been lost or are severely neglected. Apart from the issue of affirming peoples rights over land and forests and stopping the widespread land acquisition without the consent of the local people and related displacement and dispossession that is taking place, significant issues related to people's right to food security, good quality education and health, regular employment, and the ability to lead peaceful and dignified lives on an everyday basis has been seriously undermined due to this ongoing armed conflict.
As concerned people, who wish for a peaceful, democratic and just resolution of conflicts, we urge the Central and the State governments and the Communist Party of India (Maoists) to:
1. Enter into a dialogue without pre-conditions
2. Put peoples' security and welfare above everything else. Concerns regarding food security, unjust and forcible land acquisition that threatens livelihood should be addressed through dialogue and without escalated deployment of forces.
Endorsed by the following organizations and individuals:
Organisations
Aman Biradari –  Anhad –  Asha Parivar  –  Association for India's Development  –  Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), N Delhi  –  Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh (CPJC)  –  Center for Information & Intervention on Punjab  –  Delhi Forum  –  Friends of South Asia  –  Hazards Centre, New Delhi  –  Human Rights Forum  –  Intercultural Resources, New Delhi  –  Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association  —  Medico Friends Circle  –  NAGA PEOPLES' MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (NPMHR)  –  National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)  –  New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI)  –  Panos South Asia  –  People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)  –  South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR)  –  South Asia Solidarity Initiative  –  South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR)  —  TEST Foundation, Chennai  –  The Other Media, Delhi  —  Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Dantewada  –    Vettiver Collective, Chennai, Tamil Nadu –  Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), N Delhi
Individuals
Aashima Suberwal, University of Delhi ;  Abhinandan Varma ;  Ajay Dandekar, IRMA ;  Ajay Gudavarthy, JNU ;  Ajay Mahurkar, IGNOU ;  Ajay Mehta, National Foundation for India ;  Akhil Chowdry, Lawyer ;  Akram, NAPM/Asha Parivar ; Amit Bhaduri ,Professor Emeritus, JNU ;  Anand Chakravarty ;  Appu Esthose Suresh, Reporter, Covert Magazine ;  Aruna Joshi Muktasad ;  Arvind Kejriwal, Parivartan ;  Ashok Agarwal, Advocate, Center for Information & Intervention on Punjab ;  Ashutosh Kumar, Student  ;  Asit, Activist and Researcher ;  Asit, CSDS ;  B. Srinivas  ;  Bela Bhatia, (CSDS)  ;  Charul Bharwada, Researcher, Ahmedabad  ;  Chitrangada Choudhury  ;  D. Bandyopadhaya, Council for Social Development, N. Delhi  ;  Dithli, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI)  ;  Dr. Daisy Dharmaraj, TEST Foundation, Chennai  ;  Dr. Pushkar Raj, PUCL  ;  Dr. Rajnish Shukla, Vir Sewa Mandir Research Institute for Jainology, N. Delhi  ;  Dr. Santosh Kumar, EDI  ;  Dr. Umkant, Dalit Rights Activist  ;  Faisal, NAPM/Asha Parivar  ;  G. Srinivas  ;  Garima Sinha  ;  Harsh Bora, Student  ;  Harsh Mander  ;  J.J. Royburman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences  ;  Jai Sen, CACIM  ;  Jawed Naqvi, Journalist /DAWN  ;  K. Balgopal, Human Rights Forum, Hyderabad  ;  K.B. Sayane, Council for Social Development, N. Delhi  ;  Madhu Bhaduri  ;  Mamata Dash  ;  Manoj Misra  ;  Manoranjan Mohanty, Retired Prof., University of Delhi  ;  Meghna Bramachari, Student  ;  Monica Banerjee, NFI  ;  Mukut Lochan  ;  Nadim, Delhi Forum  ;  Nandini Sundar, University of Delhi  ;  Niharika Yadav, Student, University of Delhi  ;  Niraj Kumar, PUCL & Manwadhikar Patrika  ;  Nitya Anthra  ;  Nivedita Menon, JNU  ;  P.T George  ;  Prof. Chaman Lal, JNU  ;  Prof. Gynaeshwar Chaturvedi  ;  Prof. Suvit Kaul  ;  Pushpendra Kumar  ;  Ram Ratan Chatterjee, Writer & Human Rights Activist  ;  Ramachandra Guha  ;  Rebecca John, Advocate  ;  Renu Khanna, Baroda  ;  Rudolf Heredia (ISI)  ;  S. Srinivasan, Baroda  ;  Sarojini, Medico Friends Circle  ;  Seema Misra, Lawyer  ;  Shakkir Jameel, Advocate, (APCR)  ;  Shashwati Talukdar  ;  Shereen Ratnagar  ;  Shruti Tambe  ;  Sibi Arash, Panos South Asia  ;  Siddharth Varadarajan, Journalist  ;  Subrat Kumar, Independent Film Maker  ;  Sujit Ghosh, UP Rural Worker's Union, Lucknow  ;  Suvaid, University of Delhi  ;  Swati Maliwal  ;  Tani Bhargav  ;  Tapan Bose, (SAFHR)  ;  Teesta Setalvad  ;  Uma Chakravarty, Retired Prof., University of Delhi ;  Vidhya Das, AWSDC, Kashipur  ;  Vijayan M.J., Delhi Forum  ;  Vinay Mahajan Researcher, Ahmedabad  ;  Vrinda Grover, Lawyer  ;  Walter Fernandes, (NESRC), Guwahati  ;
http://southasiaspeaks.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/peoples-democracy-security-of-life-and-their-welfare-are-non-negotiable/

Delhi public meeting and statement on impending offensive of the government

                              
The following statement was formulated during the course of a public meeting in Delhi on August 4 2009, on the impending armed offensive of the government "to wipe out the CPI(Maoist)". It reflects a certain aspect of civil society response to the issue. - Ed.
Stop Militarization- Engage in Dialogue
4th August 2009, New Delhi
Resolution
We are a group of citizens concerned about the escalating armed confrontation between the CPI (Maoist) and Government forces.
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh recently said "dialogue and engagement is the best way forward… Unless we want to go to war with Pakistan, dialogue is the only way out." Surely, the fallout of waging war on one's own citizens is as serious, and perhaps more so, than the fallout of war between two states. Yet, from all accounts, the government is planning a major military offensive after the monsoons across several states, in an effort to wipe out the CPI (Maoist). This attempt to replicate the recently concluded war in Sri Lanka, will involve a similar huge cost in civilian lives, which is unacceptable in any country, which claims to be a constitutional democracy.
The military build-up by the government is accompanied by the increasing use of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and the enactment of security laws, which penalize ordinary freedom of expression. It has also involved, as in Chhattisgarh, the use of non-state actors like Salwa Judum to terrorise villagers, burn their homes and force them into camps or outside the state. Over a thousand people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced and rendered destitute by the Salwa Judum, SPOs and security forces acting in concert. In the context of Pakistan, the Prime Minister has said: "I was told that Mumbai was the work of non-state actors. I said this gave little satisfaction and that it was the duty of their government to ensure that such acts were not perpetrated from their territory." What is applicable to the Government of Pakistan must be equally applicable to the Government of India and the Government of Chhattisgarh, which continues to support and promote the illegal activities of the Salwa Judum and Special Police Officers (SPOs). In addition, even when the Supreme Court has ordered that the Chhattisgarh government give compensation and rehabilitate victims of Salwa Judum and security forces, the CG Government has taken no action whatsoever.
The Home Minister's statement that development will follow security is against all the principles of citizenship. It also views security in narrow terms as the security of the state, ignoring the real need of ordinary people to be secure from arbitrary arrests, killings and displacement. The police and security view of Naxalism as purely a law and order problem, which justifies the need for more security forces, more police stations and better weaponry ignores the socio-economic context which gave rise to Naxalism in the first place, including concerted corruption and harassment of the poor by the police in these areas. The militaristic approach of the Government of India and of the state governments to a situation which is an outcome of their own systematic and criminal neglect over the years of such underdeveloped regions, largely populated by the dalits and adivasis, cannot be allowed to become 'the solution' towards the resolution of the ongoing conflict. Indeed, the usual insensitivity of the administration and of the forces often from other states has often given it the character of an ethnic war, as is being witnessed in Lalgarh or Kalinganagar.
The Maoists have responded to the State offensive by retaliating through militarization. They are killing policemen, security personnel and those they deem informants, leading to an escalating spiral of violence. While they claim to draw their support from the people, their actions are putting at risk the very people they are fighting for, a risk that people are virtually being forced to take.
While the government and the Maoists are engaged in militarism, the real issues that concern the people have been lost or are severely neglected. Apart from the issue of affirming peoples rights over land and forests and stopping the widespread land acquisition without the consent of the local people and related displacement and dispossession that is taking place, significant issues related to people's right to food security, good quality education and health, regular employment, and the ability to lead peaceful and dignified lives on an everyday basis has been seriously undermined due to this ongoing armed conflict.
As concerned citizens of this country, who wish for a peaceful, democratic and just resolution of conflicts, we urge the Central and the State governments and the Communist Party of India (Maoists) to:
1.    Enter into a dialogue without pre-conditions
2. Put peoples' security and welfare above everything else. Concerns regarding food security, unjust and forcible land acquisition that threatens livelihood should be addressed through dialogue and without escalated deployment of forces.
Endorsed by the following organizations and individuals:
Organisations
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), N Delhi
Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh
Center for Information & Intervention on Punjab
Delhi Forum
Hazards Centre, New Delhi
Human Rights Forum
Intercultural Resources, New Delhi
Medico Friends Circle
NAPM
NTUI
The Other Media
Panos South Asia
PUCL
South Asia Forum for Human Rights
Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Dantewada
Friends of South Asia
Individuals
P.T George
Dr. Pushkar Raj, PUCL
D. Bandyopadhaya, Council for Social Development, N. Delhi
Walter Fernandes, NESRC
Sibi Arash, Panos South Asia
Ajay Gudavarthy, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Tapan Bose, South Asia Forum for Human Rights, N Delhi
G. Srinivas
Aashima Suberwal, University of Delhi
Ananya Bhattacharya, Society for Labour and Development
Vrinda Grover, Lawyer
Jai Sen, CACIM
Vanvasi Chentna Ashram
Amit Bhaduri ,Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University
K.B. Sayane, Council for Social Development, N. Delhi
Chitrangada Chowdhary
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), N Delhi
Asit, CSDS
Faisal, NAPM/Asha Parivar
Akram, NAPM/Asha Parivar
Madhu Bhaduri
Niraj Kumar, PUCL & Manwadhikar Patrika
Akhil Chowdry, Lawyer
Nadim, Delhi Forum
Harsh Bora, Student
Meghna Bramachari, Student
Subrat Kumar, Independent Film Maker
Shakkir Jameel, Advocate, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR)
Ram Ratan Chatterjee, Writer & Human Rights Activist
K. Balgopal, Human Rights Forum, Hyderabad
B. Srinivas
Manoranjan Mohanty, Retired Prof., University of Delhi
Ashutosh Kumar, Student
Suvaid, University of Delhi
Seema Misra, Lawyer
Prof. Suvit Kaul
Pushkar Raj, People's Union for Civil Liberties
Nivedita Menon, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Nandini Sundar, University of Delhi
Jawed Naqvi, Journalist /DAWN
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate, Center for Information & Intervention on Punjab
Dr.Umkant, Dalit Rights Activist
Dithli, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI)
Bela Bhatia, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)
Sarojini, Medico Friends Circle
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Mohsin Mohi-Ud Din

                               
Kashmiri-American human rights activist, Fulbright Scholar-Morocco
                               
                                                                        Posted: July 7, 2010 11:02 AM                                
                           
                       
                                               
                                                    
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                        Kashmir: Bullets for Books and Stones, Continued Crimes Against Humanity By The World's Largest Democracy                    

                       
While Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had met with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Basir, for talks last month, Kashmiris have been mourning the widespread murders of Kashmiri youth by state security forces, some 15 people this past month. The murders have sparked the largest civil protests by Kashmiris in the last two years in the Indian Administered Kashmir valley, nestled between India and Pakistan. "Everything is dead. The curfew has kept us in our homes for the last two weeks. No work, no bread, no milk, no school. More than five people have been killed in the last 24 hours," said sources speaking with me over the phone from Srinagar, Kashmir. Adding fuel to the fire, earlier this year it was revealed that Indian paramilitary forces were engaged in staging fake encounter killings by kidnapping Kashmiri civilians and reporting the murders of the civilians as armed encounters with foreign militants/terrorists. With a continuing lack of justice and accountability suffocating Kashmiri civil society, Kashmir may grow more vulnerable to falling under a resurgence of armed uprising and religious radicalization that currently plagues the region, namely in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Further instability and lawlessness in the region will marginalize the efforts of the United States and other nations who remain invested in the security and peace of the region.
WIDESPREAD KILLINGS OF YOUTH Reuters/Fayaz Kabil
Several weeks ago, a 17 year old Kashmir student, Tufail Ahmad Matoo, was walking home amidst a routine and civil anti-India protest by Kashmiris in the embattled region of Indian Occupied Kashmir. He was carrying his books. Like many Kashmiri youth of today, Tufail grew up having to endure an environment of indiscriminant arrests and killings by state security forces as well as militants. Today, an entire generation of young Kashmiris like Tufail have grown up witnessing the murder of over 70,000 people and the kidnappings and disappearances of over 8,000 Kashmiris, since 1989. Yet Tufail, like most Kashmiri youth, was focusing on his studies as means of escape. Unfortunately, like thousands of young Kashmiri boys before him, Tufail's life was cut short when he was shot in the head by a rubber bullet from Indian security forces and police last month. The killing of Tufail sparked civil protests across the Kashmir valley for the last several weeks. Two more Kashmiri youth were murdered by state security forces during funeral processions and civil protests in the days following Tufail's murder last month. As recently as this week, three more innocent Kashmiris have been killed, including a 16 year old boy who was murdered when security forces opened fire on protesters at a funeral procession of a 17 year old boy murdered Tuesday.
Just days after the student, Tufail, was murdered by state security forces, Rafiq Bangroo, 25, was severely beaten by the Indian Administered Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF, during a protest against Tufail's murder. Rafiq succumbed to his injuries. One day later, during the funeral procession for Rafiq Bangroo, the deceased's neighbor, Javaid Malla, 20, was shot and killed by security forces. Once again, curfews and civil shutdowns have left schools and businesses closed and the valley at a stand still. Indian paramilitary and police forces have been opening fire on protesters and taking men and boys into custody. This past Monday, 17 year old Muzaffar Bhat disappeared after troops chased him and a group of young boys throwing stones. Muzzafar's body was found the next day and he was allegedley beaten to death. At the funeral procession for Muzaffar, a 16 year old boy, Abrar Khan, was murdered by police during mass civil protests against the alleged killings. Some 15 Kashmiri civilians have been killed by Indian security forces since June. Kashmiris are again locked down under the gun of security forces that operate brutally with impunity. The beatings and shoot-to-kill tactics of state security forces legalized under draconian security laws continue to marginalize the basic rights, (such as the to life and movement), of millions of women and children of Kashmir.
The murders of several Kashmiri youth this past month by security forces clearly exhibits the widespread and systematic practice of shoot-to-kill strategies conducted by the state security apparatuses of India. Soldiers and state security forces are able to use bullets to combat stones and slogans under the protection of Indian security legislation, such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA, which grants Indian paramilitary and police forces license to detain, shoot, and torture at will with virtual protection from being prosecuted by civilian courts and international bodies.

FAKE ENCOUNTER KILLINGS AND MASS GRAVES
Kashmir's history has seen over 70,000 casualties and 8,000 + documented enforced disappearances since 1989. As is often the case, reports in the media about Kashmir often document Indian soldiers' killings of militants as advertised by the state security forces of India. Yet, the international community and media remain silent on documented civilian killings as well as fake encounter killings in which Kashmiri civilians are killed in custody and pawned to the international community as 'foreign militants/terrorists'. The practice of fake encounter killings is widespread throughout the valley as it rewards Indian forces legitimacy in the eyes of the media that India's military presence in the Kashmir valley is imperative to stopping the 'militancy'. Consequently, Kashmir remains one of the most militarized areas in the world with over 500,000 Indian paramilitary forces policing a population under draconian security laws.
Examples of fake encounter killings are as recent as April 2010. The International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian Administered Kashmir has reported that Shahzad Ahmad (27 years old), Riyaz Ahmad (20 years old), and Mohammad Shafi (19 years old) were executed in a fake encounter in Kupwara District. The men were last seen in the custody of special-counter-insurgency personnel. The family reported the men missing after several days. At the same time, the military reported that security forces killed three foreign militants in the area. After a police investigation, the bodies of the three alleged foreign militants were found. Army personnel are reported to have pressured local police to report the bodies as those of foreign militants. Once the bodies were exhumed however, it was concluded that the bodies were Kashmiri civilians, not foreign terrorists and autopsies showed the bodies to have been shot at close range, execution style. ( It must be noted that rarely do police investigations into arbitrary arrests and kidnappings yield results.) The murders of the three Kashmiri men have since been authenticated as fake encounters. In another example on April 14, a 70 year old Kashmiri pan-handler met the same fate and he too was mislabeled by the Indian security forces as a foreign militant. The indiscriminate killing of three youth in the past eleven days is evidence enough of widespread human rights abuse in Kashmir. Yet, there are thousands of more stories of fake encounter killings in Kashmir that are evidence to crimes by state security forces. Such widespread and systematic practices constitute crimes against humanity.
Adding urgency to the conflict in Kashmir is the recent discovery of over 2,700 unmarked graves in Kashmir. The Kashmir People's Tribunal recently documented the graves in a report titled Buried Evidence, authored by the conveners of the International Kashmir People's Tribunal , Dr. Angana Cahtterji and Parvez Imroz, two leading human rights investigators in South East Asia. The Tribunal reported over 2,900 bodies across 55 villages contained in over 2,700 mass graves. Since the release of the report, Indian security forces refuse an investigation into identifying the bodies. They claim the bodies to be those of foreign terrorists. (State security forces have also made attempts on the lives of both conveners from the Tribunal.) Of the few bodies that were exhumed, it was found that the bodies of the alleged foreign terrorists in fact were authenticated fake encounters in which Kashmiri civilians, who had been reported missing by their families, were taken into custody by security forces and then executed. The slain men were not foreign terrorists, but Kashmiris. The Kashmir People's Tribunal reports " it is reasonable to contend that the 8,000 + enforced and involuntary disappearances since 1989 would correlate to the number of bodies found in unknown, unmarked, and mass graves across Kashmir." Lawyers have filed thousands of petitions and the civilian population continues to engage in civil protests for accountability, however, the calls for justice and accountability remain unanswered. Consequently, young Kashmiri boys, like 17 year-old Tufail, continue to be victims of indiscriminant killings by the state security forces.
THE RISKS AND THE NEEDS
For every boy like Tufail that is killed, there risks more youth falling vulnerable to taking up the gun as a result of legislated political and physical oppression. One loss of an innocent young life is on its own deplorable, and yet, two more Kashmiri youth had been killed by Indian security forces in that same week, last month. This week, four more innocents were murdered during funeral processions and protests, among them two more 17 and 16 year old boys. The international community must demand more accountability from the world's largest democracy, India. As long as there exists such widespread and systematic extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances, the youth of today, who have seen nothing but failed political and judicial processes, will take to the gun and we may see a resurgence of the armed militant movement that devastated Kashmir and the region in 1989.
Making matters more fragile is the growing instability and armed radicalization in Taliban controlled areas throughout neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Over two decades ago, U.S-backed Islamic militants, or, mujahideen, led an uprising against Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in the 1980s. The mujahideen's fight against abuses and crimes sparked the armed movement of youth in Kashmir in 1989 against Indian occupation and human rights abuse. Upon their victory in Afghanistan, the mujahideen fighters grew alienated and radicalized, eventually forming what we today identify as the Taliban. Today we see a resurgence of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This regional trend, coupled with the deteriorating human rights situation in Kashmir, may once again make Kashmir a potential time bomb for further instability in the region. The international community must not let its efforts for regional security be sabotaged by growing lawlessness and instability in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The sources of the instability today, as demonstrated by Kashmiri civil society, are the indiscriminant killings of civilians by Indian paramilitary forces and the extra-judicial killings that continue unabated.
Kashmiri civil society needs something to hold onto as they find themselves locked in an increasingly fragile environment: prospects for political or judicial resolution seem dim while desperate violent strategies may be gaining ground as they are in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore, it is imperative for India's ally, the United States and members U.N Security Council, to ensure that India commits to transparent, independent, and robust investigations of extrajudicial killings and indiscriminant attacks on civil society in Kashmir. International rights bodies must be allowed access by India to perform independent investigations into mass graves documented in the Kashmir Tribunal's report. Additionally, draconian state-security legislation must be challenged by the international community because such laws allow for indiscriminant arrests, torture, and murder of civilians. Security legislation, such as the Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed forces Special Powers Act, must be repealed for they are in direct contravention of the basic tenants within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly the right to life. Any amended piece of security legislation must incorporate the UN Declaration on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
CONCLUSION
Kashmiri civilians are repeatedly murdered by Indian forces and then pawned to the international community as foreign terrorists. This should no longer be a tolerated enterprise for India's militarization of Kashmir. Kashmiri mothers, fathers, and the youth are against terrorism being that Kashmiris are themselves the main victims of grenade attacks by militants, as well as, the bullets and mortars of Indian state security forces. The Kashmiri people remain strong and they hold on to a hope that the Obama Administration and UN bodies will pressure India to: demilitarize the valley; repeal repressive security legislation; and account for human rights violations committed over the last 20 years. However, as Kashmiri youth continue to be murdered by state security forces this week, the avenues for legal and political resolution seem less attainable for the everyday Kashmiri. Should the world not come to the aid of the people of Kashmir, who for over two decades have had to endure the absence of justice and accountability, then the valley may forever fall in the spiraling gyre of lawlessness and violence that will stifle security in South Asia, and thus threaten the security of other nations.
Kashmiris believe in democracy and civil society and that is why they continue to carry out civil protests amidst the bullets and batons of brutal of state security apparatuses. Yet, they are human and they desperately hold on to the fragile hope for justice and accountability. It is time the world stands with them and not let more 17 year-old boys be slain in vain.

(To learn more about the mass graves or to support the International Kashmir People's Tribunal in Indian Administered Kashmir, visit: www.kashmirprocess.org)
                                                      

                            
                                    Follow Mohsin Mohi-Ud Din on Twitter:                                             www.twitter.com/mohsindin                                                
        http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mohsin-mohiud-din/kashmir-bullets-for-books_b_624058.html    

8/07/2010

Separatists planned to 'martyr' 15 people in J&K

New Delhi: Involvement of hardline separatists in engineering some of the violence in the Kashmir valley is indicated by an intercepted conversation between two of them during which they discussed killing of at least 15 people in a procession near Srinagar on Wednesday.
Kashmiris throw stones at police men as authorities re-imposed a curfew, during the funeral procession of Abrar Khan in Srinagar on Tuesday. Police fired on hundreds of rock-throwing protesters, killing three and wounding two others. Photo Courtesy: AP
A large procession had started in Budgam district on the outskirts of Srinagar in the evening and two senior office-bearers of the hardline Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani discussed how to utilise it to create casualties, according to the transcript of the conversation available with the Home Ministry.
According to the transcript, one of the office- bearers, Ghulam Ahmed Dar, was heard telling Shabir Ahmed Wani, another office-bearer, that a procession of nearly 20,000 people had started from Magam and was going towards Budgam.
Wani tells Dar, "you guys enjoy payments sitting at home and do nothing."
Dar, in his response, says, "the management of crowd becomes difficult later.....it gets difficult to manage the mob later."
Dar then ends up by saying, "at least 15 people should be martyred today."
However in the event, the police dispersed the procession with a mild cane charge and no no untoward incident took place.
A motorcyclist rides on a deserted highway during a curfew in Panthachowk on the outskirts of Srinagar. The Centre deployed the army in Srinagar for the first time in nearly two decades on Wednesday to quell huge protests that have killed 15 people and threaten to destabilise the region. Photo Courtesy: Reuters
Meanwhile, as curfew was clamped in more areas of Kashmir, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday hoped Army would not be required there for too long and appealed to people of the valley to observe restrictions.
Underlining that the purpose of moving in the Army was to "serve as a deterrent", he said, "Army has been kept ready in case it becomes necessary to deploy them."
Chidambaram said Army will be in Kashmir "as long as it is necessary" to deal with the situation there. "But I sincerely hope that it will not be necessary for too long."
He emphasised that people should not come out of their homes during curfew and pelt stones.
"I appeal to Jammu and Kashmir people to observe curfew and stay indoors. Curfew is in place for a couple of days. I am sure the J and K government will be able to relax curfew in a couple of days," he said.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Chidambaram hoped Army would not be required there for too long and appealed to people of the valley to observe restrictions. Photo Courtesy: PTI
"Parents should ensure that their children remain indoors. It is the responsibility of parents," the Home Minister said, adding "It is important that curfew is enforced and observed by everybody."
He said major share of patrolling and law enforcement was being done by the state police and CRPF and Army was on standby in case there was need for its deployment.
The Home Minister said Kashmir witnessed "two very minor incidents" of violence yesterday but today he was yet to receive any report on the situation.
"Army was deployed at the request of government of Jammu and Kashmir. I am not at liberty to disclose where it has been deployed. But I can assure that most of the places affected are still being patrolled and curfew enforced by J and K Police and paramilitary forces," he told reporters here.
His comments while briefing on decisions of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs came as more areas of Kashmir were brought under curfew today.
Source: Indian Express

Screen the Nation

It was a Kashmiri student's casual reference to the troubled Valley as a "beautiful prison" that intrigued filmmaker Rahul Dholakia enough to explore the subject through his next film Lamhaa . The Sanjay Dutt-Kunal Kapoor-Bipasha Basu starrer is a culmination, he says, of two years of research on the state of Kashmiri civilians caught in the crossfire between politics and religious terrorism. "Kashmir continues to burn till today because it benefits everyone involved — militants, politicians, armed forces, administration as well as the extremists. The only people suffering are the Kashmiris, and this is what Lamhaa attempts to bring to light," he asserts.
Not just Dholakia, many in Bollywood seem to have taken up the task of addressing the country's sociopolitical issues. Lamhaa , which releases on July 16, will be preceded by Ananth Mahadevan's Red Alert--The War Within that provides an "objective" view of the Naxal issue. Anusha Rizvi's satirical Peepli Live, releasing on August 13, attempts to bring to light the widening gap between rural and urban India through the plaguing issue of farmer suicides. Later this year, Priyadarshan, otherwise known for his comedies, will release Aakrosh that focusses on the barbaric practice of honour killings.
However, working on such issues is often riddled with it multiple challenges. Of them, says Mahadevan, "maintaining objectivity" is the biggest one. "Today the country is reeling from Naxalite attacks. But the situation has come to this point because they have been exploited for years. So the challenge lies in presenting both sides of the story," he says. Dholakia seconds him. The Lamhaa director recounts that once, while travelling on the Jammu highway, he was stopped by an army jawan who aimed the gun at him and insisted he freeze. "I almost lost faith in the army jawans. Later, when I met some at the camp, I realised that they are expected to give up their lives for the country for a mere Rs 7,200 salary. I have to be objective about the situation."
But pointing fingers at too many people, in our democratic country, is still unacceptable. Early this year, Dibakar Banerjee had to leave out the caste references in the honour killing segment of his Love Sex Aur Dhokha . Dholakia has had to beep out the word "defence" in his reference to defence ministry and dub "RAW" as "agency". Mahadevan, on the other hand, downloaded interviews and references to back his film in case of a backlash. Often the lack of support for such films exists within the industry. Apart from hesitant producers and distributors, filmmakers are turned down by stars who prefer not to take "risks". "Thankfully that is changing," says Mahadevan, "The only actor to turn me away was Mithun Chakravarty since he has been a Naxalite himself." In a casting coup of sorts, he managed to get BJP politician Vinod Khanna to play a leader of the rebel outfit. "He told me that irrespective of what his party's beliefs, he will treat it as a character." But is the country that prefers escapism through cinema ready to face "reality"? Box office results, says Rizvi, will always remain a matter of concern with such films. But Dholakia is worried about something else altogether—sitting in cities, people can't believe the extent to which these problems have accelerated and may complain of the cinematic reference as an exaggeration.
    It was a Kashmiri student's casual reference to the troubled Valley as a "beautiful prison" that intrigued filmmaker Rahul Dholakia enough to explore the subject through his next film Lamhaa . The Sanjay Dutt-Kunal Kapoor-Bipasha Basu starrer is a culmination, he says, of two years of research on the state of Kashmiri civilians caught in the crossfire between politics and religious terrorism. "Kashmir continues to burn till today because it benefits everyone involved — militants, politicians, armed forces, administration as well as the extremists. The only people suffering are the Kashmiris, and this is what Lamhaa attempts to bring to light," he asserts.
Not just Dholakia, many in Bollywood seem to have taken up the task of addressing the country's sociopolitical issues. Lamhaa , which releases on July 16, will be preceded by Ananth Mahadevan's Red Alert--The War Within that provides an "objective" view of the Naxal issue. Anusha Rizvi's satirical Peepli Live, releasing on August 13, attempts to bring to light the widening gap between rural and urban India through the plaguing issue of farmer suicides. Later this year, Priyadarshan, otherwise known for his comedies, will release Aakrosh that focusses on the barbaric practice of honour killings.
However, working on such issues is often riddled with it multiple challenges. Of them, says Mahadevan, "maintaining objectivity" is the biggest one. "Today the country is reeling from Naxalite attacks. But the situation has come to this point because they have been exploited for years. So the challenge lies in presenting both sides of the story," he says. Dholakia seconds him. The Lamhaa director recounts that once, while travelling on the Jammu highway, he was stopped by an army jawan who aimed the gun at him and insisted he freeze. "I almost lost faith in the army jawans. Later, when I met some at the camp, I realised that they are expected to give up their lives for the country for a mere Rs 7,200 salary. I have to be objective about the situation."
But pointing fingers at too many people, in our democratic country, is still unacceptable. Early this year, Dibakar Banerjee had to leave out the caste references in the honour killing segment of his Love Sex Aur Dhokha . Dholakia has had to beep out the word "defence" in his reference to defence ministry and dub "RAW" as "agency". Mahadevan, on the other hand, downloaded interviews and references to back his film in case of a backlash. Often the lack of support for such films exists within the industry. Apart from hesitant producers and distributors, filmmakers are turned down by stars who prefer not to take "risks". "Thankfully that is changing," says Mahadevan, "The only actor to turn me away was Mithun Chakravarty since he has been a Naxalite himself." In a casting coup of sorts, he managed to get BJP politician Vinod Khanna to play a leader of the rebel outfit. "He told me that irrespective of what his party's beliefs, he will treat it as a character." But is the country that prefers escapism through cinema ready to face "reality"? Box office results, says Rizvi, will always remain a matter of concern with such films. But Dholakia is worried about something else altogether—sitting in cities, people can't believe the extent to which these problems have accelerated and may complain of the cinematic reference as an exaggeration.

Calming Kashmir

    Indian express   
       

• 
  

Thu, Jul 8 04:46 AM
A fresh round of protests has erupted in the Kashmir valley. The situation is deteriorating by the day. But the RSS says that calming the Valley is not an impossible task as it believes that after decades of violence, the ordinary Kashmiri must be wanting to get on with life. The Sangh fountainhead has no major prescription to offer to normalise the situation. The lead editorial in the RSS mouthpiece Organiser nevertheless claims that powerful instruments like panchayati raj that can go a long way in healing the situation. "What is lacking in Kashmir is the political will. The security measures need to be supported by actions by the governments at the state and the Centre. The political forces out of power in the state and inimical to the interest of the nation should be marginalised," it says.
"The major stumbling block is the monetary and military help that the extremists and their hangers-on receive from across the Western border, which needs to be addressed by Delhi. Pakistan has been following the diabolic Afzal Khan policy. The answer should be Shivaji's," it advocates.
The RSS, however, praised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for inviting Kashmiri pandits to worship at the Kheer Bhawani temple. "Let this be a beginning. Such measures should be repeated more often, which would send out a strong message of India's determination to restore the Valley to the Kashmiris," it says.
The wrong lessons
The Organiser also focuses on its staple theme, of Hinduism under threat — a report from Bengal talks about Indian children attending daily classes in madarsas in Bangladesh, since villages in the state's northern parts abutting Bangladesh do not have even primary schools.
It holds up the Nicha Gobindapur village in South Dinajpur district on the Indo-Bangladesh border as an example: "This village is surrounded with barbed wire. A total of 31 students of this village regularly go to Doudpur madarsa in Bangladesh for their education... Even after having Indian identity they are not allowed to know the history of their own country. Instead they study the history of Bangladesh, history of Islam, Hadis, Quran, and Fikah, a book written in Aarbi language. In class examination or final exam they are asked to write the life and time of Hazrat Muhammad, the topography of ancient Arabia, how it looked like."
"These students of Nicha Gobindapur have to appear in examination under the Madarsa Education Board of Bangladesh. After passing through the examination they take admission in Dinajpur College of Bangladesh. This is the way how a group of Indian students are growing up," it says. The story is the same in several villages on the Indo-Bangla border, it argues.
Nitish's gracelessness
The BJP may have entered into a truce with Nitish Kumar, but the RSS has not. An article titled "The pathetic case of Nitish Kumar" questions the Bihar chief minister's decision to return the flood aid given by the Narendra Modi government and describes his gesture as "petty".
"If Nitish Kumar had such contempt for Modi — and he is welcome to his feelings — why didn't he resign from the Vajpayee government when the Godhra riots took place in 2002, as a measure of solidarity with Muslims? And just as importantly, only a few days ago, why did he not decline BJP support to the JD(U) in the Rajya Sabha elections, when the BJP gave its six surplus votes to help win two seats? Wasn't it 'charity' of sorts that was no secret?" the article seeks to know.
It reproduces the BJP argument that the money was not drawn from Modi's personal account and was given on behalf of the state of Gujarat and its people, and offers the now-familiar argument that Kumar was out to garner Muslim support by snubbing Modi. "Nitish Kumar may have a point when he says that while doing charity is good, boasting about it is against Indian culture. So is lack of graciousness on the part of Nitish Kumar in a vain effort to win over a few Muslim votes. It is communalism at its worst, and does no credit to Bihar," it says.
Compiled by Manoj C.G.

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With a Rs 4.65 lakh/month salary, Sonal Shah, Obama's deputy asst, is the highest paid Indo-American in White House.
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Kashmiri freedom struggle shakes Indian Union: Serious problem with republic

               
Posted on August 13, 2008 by The Editors                    
                                    
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Kashmiri woman fighting against Indian occupation
| PAKISTAN LEDGER | August 12th, 2008 | Moin Ansari | The Kashmiri protests along with the Northeast insurrection combined with the Naxalite insurgency covers more than half of the Indian Union. The protests in Kashmir not only blow up the dream of "Incredible India" they are actually blowing up India. If Jammu is Hindu, then why can't Kashmir be Muslim. If the state has already faces a de facto division, why not divide it permanently. If the Kashmiris want to trade with Pakistan how long will the soldiers keep killing the innocent civilians?
Kashmiris protesting Indian occupation in 2008
The idea of becoming subservient to India is abhorrent and that of cooperation with India, with the object of promoting tension with China, equally repugnant." Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Kashmir seh rishtaa kiyaa: La Ilaha Ill-Lal lah. Batt key raheh gaa Hindustaan. Kashmir Banaigaa Pakistan
India Occupied Kashmir explodes in unprecdented violence
Indian Kashmirs desperate for trade with free Pakistani Kashmir
Clear lines drawn: Kashmiri Muslims vs Jammu Hindus
Kashmiri women asking for freedom from Indian ocucpation
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has separated the Kashmiris from their brethren in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. Northern Areas are part of Pakistan and were never part of Kashmir. Historical records have to be dug up to discover the background of the crisis. India annexed Kashmir on a forged document just like Russia has attacked and taken over Georgian territory. Kashmir: Does the article of accession exist? Azad Kashmir is the slice of territory where Kashmiris can breathe freedom. More than 500,000 Kashmiris wanted to cross the Line of Control (LOC) and and reach their brothers and sisters in Muzaffarabad. India seems to think that it has swallowed up the fruits of its aggression in 1948.Northern Areas are part of Pakistan and were never part of Kashmir.
Kashmir: Does the article of Accession exist?
KASHMIR
Kashmiris protesting Indian occupation in 2008
Peace is a two way street
Nehru's commitment to the people of Kashmir Kashmir and Junagarh is Pakistani territory
The idea of becoming subservient to India is abhorrent and that of cooperation with India, with the object of promoting tension with China, equally repugnant." Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Kashmir protests world wide En Francias
Surely this is not the picture New Delhi wants to send to the world's TC sets.
Kashmiris say protests a 'wake-up' call for India
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — A new wave of deadly unrest in Indian Kashmir is a reminder that a peace process between India and Pakistan has failed to alleviate the frustrations of the region's Muslims, residents say.
They hope the massive protests will force New Delhi to admit it has not won "hearts and minds" in its part of the disputed Himalayan territory — despite claims it has — and accept the root causes of the conflict must be addressed.
"The protests are the manifestation of an anger that the peace process doesn't seem to have achieved anything," said Noor Ahmed Baba, a political science professor in Indian Kashmir's main university.
"The peace process has not addressed the concerns of Kashmiris. They want to see an end to uncertainty. They want a resolution of the Kashmir dispute," he said. "The protests are serious and should serve as a wake-up call."
In 2003, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire along the heavily militarised Line of Control that cuts though Kashmir, a region they each hold in part but claim in full.
A year later the nuclear-armed neighbours launched what has turned out to be an extremely slow-moving peace process.
The dialogue was supposed to address all bones of contention, including the status of Kashmir, but has remained bogged down in mutual recriminations over cross-border militancy and terror attacks.
For ordinary Kashmiris, that means they still have to live with a massive Indian army and paramilitary contingent that is visible on almost every road, street corner or hill top of a part of the world once known as the "Switzerland of the east."
Indian security forces are regularly accused of brutalising locals, and a recent scandal saw several soldiers accused of murdering civilians and passing them off as Islamic militants as a way of winning bonuses or promotions.
India remains unwilling to acknowledge that Kashmir is even "disputed," let alone consider giving it some autonomy.
The latest protests, which have left close to 20 dead by police firing in two days, were sparked by a decision by the Jammu and Kashmir state government to award land to a Hindu pilgrimage trust.
The order was rescinded after a first wave of protests by Muslims, only to spark rioting and a blockade by Hindu extremists who dominate the south of the state.
On Monday and Tuesday, demonstrations by Muslims over the punishing blockade — which is threatening financial ruin for fruit growers — were met with Indian gunfire.
"Firing on protesters speaks of Indian double-standards. In Jammu, three protesters were killed during several days of curfew, but in the (Muslim) Kashmir valley, six people are martyred on the very first day of a curfew," said one Kashmiri protester, Showket Ahmed, a university student.
"They love to kill Muslims," he said of the Indian police and soldiers.
"After these shooting incidents we have lost whatever love we had for Indians," added housewife Haleema Akhter, as witnesses also reported Indian police beating injured protesters who were being taken to hospital in ambulances.
India is now being hit by some of the biggest protests since the Kashmir insurgency erupted in 1989, and facing the end of years of relative calm brought about by the peace process and ceasefire along the Line of Control.
Separatists say their struggle, which was only recently described by India as burning out, has been given a major boost.
"The rising pro-freedom protests will definitely give impetus to the freedom struggle," hardline separatist Syed Ali Geelani told AFP.
"What we are seeing is the revival of the separatist movement in Kashmir, which had been in a dying stage," agreed Tahir Mohiudin, an editor of the leading Urdu weekly Chattan.
"Firing on unarmed civilians will alienate people further and serve the cause of separatists," he said.
The idea of becoming subservient to India is abhorrent and that of cooperation with India, with the object of promoting tension with China, equally repugnant." Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Azad Kashmir is the slice of territory where Kashmiris can breathe freedom. More than 500,000 Kashmiris wanted to cross the Line of Control (LOC) and and reach their brothers and sisters in Muszaffarabad.
Kashmir and Junagarh is Pakistani territory
Kashmir: What was liberated in 1948? What remains?
Kargil facts
1947 impact today: Radcliffs award of Ferozepur and Gurdaspur foretold the hidden scheme for Kashmir
Historical records have to be dug up to discover the background of the crisis. India annexed Kashmir on a forged document just like Russia has attacked and taken over Georgian territory. Kashmir: Does the article of accession exist?
India seems to think that it has swallowed up the fruits of its aggression in 1948.Northern Areas are part of Pakistan and were never part of Kashmir
US resolutions, and Nehru speeches on disputed nature of Kashmir.
Indus Water Treaty, Kalabagh, Kashmir, & Gurdaspur
Nehru's commitments on Kashmir to the world
India relents: Occupied Kashmiris can travel to Free Azad Kashmir (Pakistan)
Advani Launching Hindu campaign against Occupied Kashmiris
Pakistan welcomes the liberty trucks from Indian Occupied Kashmir to Azad Kashmir. Mr. Manmohan bring down the wall: Let freedom reign.
Jammu vs. Kashmir = Hindu vs. Muslim in "secular" India
India is also waging a water war in the Kashmir region.
http://rupeenews.com/2008/08/13/kashmiri-freedom-struggle-shakes-indian-union-serious-problem-with-republic/

EDITORIAL: Kashmir burns
The firing of Indian security forces on protesting mobs in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) has now become a pattern. Even if the crowds pelted stones on the police and paramilitary troops, firing back in response can hardly be justified. It is this tendency of the Indian security forces that has worsened the situation in the Kashmir valley. On Tuesday, three Kashmiris, including a woman, were shot dead by India security personnel while they were protesting the death of a Kashmiri boy. Killing of innocent Kashmiris at the hands of police, paramilitary forces and the army has seen a steep rise since the mysterious murder of two women in Shopian. Last month, the Indian Army claimed killing three militants. However, investigations by the local police proved they were ordinary citizens and were not involved in any unlawful activity. The current wave of protests has engulfed almost the entire valley. Failing to control the inflamed situation, the state requested the army to assist the police and clamped restrictions on the media. Curfew passes of local and non-local media teams have been cancelled, limiting their mobility in the valley, while the duration of one-hour news bulletins of local media outlets has been slashed to 10 minutes. Short messaging service (SMS) has also been restricted because several media organisations used this service to relay the latest news. All this depicts that the state government expected a severe backlash from the people. Protesters and security forces are engaging in skirmishes in areas where curfew has not been imposed. However, this issue cannot be resolved through repressive measures.

In addition to putting a check on the excesses of the security forces, the state government of Kashmir and central Indian government would have to make peace with local groups actively engaged in the freedom struggle for the last two decades. We keep hearing renewed calls for freedom from Indian rule whenever there is a new incident. Without resolving the issue internally, India cannot hope to settle this matter with Pakistan. Meanwhile, IHK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has accused Pakistan of sabotaging the state government's negotiations with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. At the same time he admitted that such negotiations could not succeed without the involvement of Pakistan. Such statements only reveal the failure of the state government to make any progress towards a negotiated solution. While both India and Pakistan are party to this conflict, it is the Kashmiris whose opinion is of paramount importance, which should be acceptable to both Pakistan and India. Instead of clamping inhuman restrictions in Kashmir, the state government should try to resolve the problem through political means. Building of a favourable climate is essential for negotiations to succeed. A positive outcome of India-Pakistan talks are expected to assist the intra-Kashmir dialogue.

There are some positive indications on the Pakistani side, as the Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister advised the Pakistan government to give up its 'Kashmir first' stance and focus on the doable in relations with India. This is a major policy shift because earlier the AJK administration was explicitly pro-establishment. Resolution of small irritants would pave the way for approaching bigger issues like Kashmir. Meanwhile, the Indian government should come to some understanding with Kashmiri groups. If serious investments are not made in sustaining an internal dialogue, Kashmir will keep boiling for the foreseeable future. *

SECOND EDITORIAL: Plot to assassinate democracy

In the wake of the Data Darbar attack, investigations have brought another shocking claim to light. It has been uncovered that the suspects arrested after the suicide attack on the Data Darbar had even more sinister plans in mind. Those arrested have revealed a plot to assassinate President Asif Ali Zardari on his next visit to Lahore. The dastardly plan reveals a full throttle attack on the Punjab Governor's House — detailed maps of the premises were also claimed to be discovered by the police — to kill the president when he would visit.

These claims do not stop there. The terrorists also profess planning to kill Governor Punjab Salman Taseer and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif.

If these claims are to be believed, terrorism is beginning to take on an even bloodier hue. While suicide bombings on places of worship, security agencies and even civilian centres are alarming, attempts on the lives of democratically elected leaders and other prominent members of the government are akin to trying to create anarchy in the country. Such an attempt could prove highly dangerous.

The terrorists are on a mission to sabotage the democratic institutions. For this reason alone, the recent calls for an all parties' conference must be viewed with a note of urgency and unity of all political forces to combat the threat forged. With the Centre and Punjab finally agreed on the need to root out terrorism from Punjab, police and intelligence-based action appears to have begun, hence the recent spate of arrests.

It is vital that all political parties stand on the same platform now to consolidate efforts against the terrorists. The militants have organised themselves in such a way that they all operate on the same agenda: death, destruction and a weakening of the political and security system.

It is time the democratic forces emerge more united from their consultations to defeat these malicious elements. The PML-N will need to immediately jettison any support or sympathy it may have had for banned organisations. The sooner everybody realises that nobody is safe, the sooner consolidated moves against the terrorists will be seen. *
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\08\story_8-7-2010_pg3_1

Kashmiri deaths
Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 08 Jul, 2010    
Regrettably the world at large, including lame duck OIC, has taken no notice of the unrest in the valley and of gross violations of human rights there. –Photo by Reuters
World
Kashmir streets under army lockdown to end protest
Kashmir streets under army lockdown to end protest
The rising number of civilian deaths in Indian-administered Kashmir highlights the failure of India's policy that has relied on a coercive apparatus instead of political tools to crush the current wave of protests in Srinagar and elsewhere.
So far 15 people have been killed since trouble began in mid-June with the shooting to death of a schoolboy by Indian troops. It is significant that it is the urban areas which are the bastion of the Kashmiri unrest, the protesters being unarmed people. This says a lot about the character of the movement against Indian occupation and belies New Delhi's claim that foreign elements are behind the stir. As top Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the other day the struggle was indigenous and that "these killings will not deter us from pursuing our goal of independence". If only the Indian leadership could grasp this truth.
Regrettably — and it is a measure of the failure of Islamabad's diplomacy — the world at large, including lame duck OIC, has taken no notice of the unrest in the valley and of gross violations of human rights there. Fortunately, some human rights' bodies, including those in India, keep tabs on the situation and do not fail to draw the world's attention to the special 'search and arrest' powers which enable the Indian security agencies to suppress the Kashmiri people. Last week, Amnesty International asked the Indian government to hold an inquiry into the civilian deaths and take action both against security personnel and against protesters found involved in rights' violations. New Delhi is now reported to be considering modifying if not withdrawing the special powers which the security personnel regularly abuse to deal with Kashmiris.
Force has failed to crush the Kashmiri people's yearning for freedom. That New Delhi should abandon political means is stupefying. Even the Indian army chief had the good sense to declare that the situation in Kashmir needed a political solution. In a newspaper interview last month, Gen V.K. Singh, while claiming that the army had done its job, said, "Now the need is to handle the situation politically." This is coming from the head of an army which has deployed a minimum of half a million troops in the valley to hold the Kashmiri people back.
While the Indo-Pakistan relationship is bogged down in India's Mumbai obsession, one hopes Pakistan's foreign minister will make his Indian counterpart realise, when the two meet on July 15, that an end to the rights' violations in the valley will help create an atmosphere conducive to forward movement on normalising Indo-Pakistan relations.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/kashmiri-deaths-870

Kashmir is issue of Kashmiris' right to self-determination: Dr Fai

Chicago, July 08 (KMS): The Executive Director of Kashmir Centre Washington, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai has said that the Kashmir dispute is primarily the issue of self-determination which is a basic principle of the United Nations Charter that has been applied countless times to the settlement of international disputes.
Dr Fai during a panel discussion titled "Overcoming Barriers to Realizing the Right of Self-determination" here said that the applicability of the principle of self-determination to the specific case of Jammu and Kashmir had been explicitly recognized by the United Nations and it was also upheld equally by both India and Pakistan when the Kashmir dispute was brought before the Security Council in 1948. He said that the human, political and legal realities of the dispute had become more accentuated with the passage of time. Dr Fai maintained that no settlement of the Kashmir dispute would be long-lasting unless it was explicitly based on the principle of self-determination.
Professor Richard Bonney, Chairman, Europe-Islamic World Organization, England said Kashmir may, in reality be a more difficult nut to crack than even Palestine. He said that India rejected third party mediation, and the US was therefore unable to act as anything more than a covert honest broker. He said that the Indian government should repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, withdraw troops and punish those guilty of crimes against the people. He pointed out that if India wished to take some action on Kashmir, involving a broad spectrum of Kashmiri opinion, reversing excessive militarization and punishing the perpetrators of human rights abuses, it could well find partners to dialogue. "There might even be reason for hope for concessions on the key point of allowing Kashmiris a collective voice in one way or another to determine their own future and thus for an eventual solution to the problem of Kashmir in our own lifetime," he added
Professor Richard Bonney said that India had great power ambitions and great powers had to show statesmanship and be prepared to make concessions in the greater interests of regional or world peace. "When President Obama visits India in November this year, he needs to provide the appropriate encouragement to its government and opposition leaders that now is the time for this to happen," he added.
Professor Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Senior Fellow, Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana said that Kashmir, divided at the time of decolonization/Partition, was one of the oldest unresolved disputes on the United Nations agenda. From the first, the UN declared that self-determination on the part of the Kashmiri people (i.e. a plebiscite) would be the fair way to decide whether the region should accede to India or to Pakistan. But, though appealing on the ideal level, this goal has never moved Kashmir toward peace over the many years since its division. It appears that a fresh level of thinking, a thinking outside the box, may be required if this dispute is to be truly resolved.
Dr Muzzammil Siddiqui, former President of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that the conflict of Kashmir was one of the oldest continuing conflicts in the world and the people of Kashmir were the longest suffering people. A resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council in 1948 had stated that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru reaffirmed the Indian Government's commitment to the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own future through a plebiscite. These are all indisputable facts. But still the people of Kashmir are denied their legitimate right of self-determination under one pretext or the other.
He stated that India and Pakistan both needed to go back to their pledges and do what they had promised to each other and to the world. The events of the last 60 years have shown that they are not capable to do it themselves and they need help and encouragement of the Security Council, especially the United States. The solution must come peacefully. All parties have to recognize that violence and wars cannot solve the problem. The solution of this problem will be for the good of all the three parties: the people of Kashmir as well as India and Pakistan.
Dr Ghulam N Mir, President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement said that mass graves containing thousands of bodies found in Uri region had failed to call for an international investigation. Even as we speak, Kashmir is once again under a barbaric siege in nearly all towns and cities including Srinagar, Sopore, Islamabad, Baramulla and Kupwara. 18 innocent youth, some as young as 18 years have been gunned down by Indian troops in two weeks. Life in all major towns has been choked and paralyzed by the shoot-to-kill curfews around the clock. People cannot venture out to buy a loaf of bread, a pound of meat or vegetables, or take their sick to the hospitals. India must demilitarize Kashmir of over 600,000 of its troops stationed in towns, cities and countryside. They are a source of much brutality, terror, fear and moral corruption.
He said that Indian civil society must rise and demand unequivocally that brutality of the military rule in Kashmir over civilian population was wrong and must be stopped. It must demand an end to military and police rule in Kashmir. End of military rule will restore some semblance of public confidence and a sense of security to help pave the way for a peace process. Kashmir is not about to abandon its quest for total and absolute freedom from India. The Kashmiris are committed to their cause and no power in the world would be able to dissuade them to abandon their struggle.

Kashmir is issue of Kashmiris' right to self-determination: Dr Fai

Chicago, July 08 (KMS): The Executive Director of Kashmir Centre Washington, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai has said that the Kashmir dispute is primarily the issue of self-determination which is a basic principle of the United Nations Charter that has been applied countless times to the settlement of international disputes.
Dr Fai during a panel discussion titled "Overcoming Barriers to Realizing the Right of Self-determination" here said that the applicability of the principle of self-determination to the specific case of Jammu and Kashmir had been explicitly recognized by the United Nations and it was also upheld equally by both India and Pakistan when the Kashmir dispute was brought before the Security Council in 1948. He said that the human, political and legal realities of the dispute had become more accentuated with the passage of time. Dr Fai maintained that no settlement of the Kashmir dispute would be long-lasting unless it was explicitly based on the principle of self-determination.
Professor Richard Bonney, Chairman, Europe-Islamic World Organization, England said Kashmir may, in reality be a more difficult nut to crack than even Palestine. He said that India rejected third party mediation, and the US was therefore unable to act as anything more than a covert honest broker. He said that the Indian government should repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, withdraw troops and punish those guilty of crimes against the people. He pointed out that if India wished to take some action on Kashmir, involving a broad spectrum of Kashmiri opinion, reversing excessive militarization and punishing the perpetrators of human rights abuses, it could well find partners to dialogue. "There might even be reason for hope for concessions on the key point of allowing Kashmiris a collective voice in one way or another to determine their own future and thus for an eventual solution to the problem of Kashmir in our own lifetime," he added
Professor Richard Bonney said that India had great power ambitions and great powers had to show statesmanship and be prepared to make concessions in the greater interests of regional or world peace. "When President Obama visits India in November this year, he needs to provide the appropriate encouragement to its government and opposition leaders that now is the time for this to happen," he added.
Professor Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Senior Fellow, Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana said that Kashmir, divided at the time of decolonization/Partition, was one of the oldest unresolved disputes on the United Nations agenda. From the first, the UN declared that self-determination on the part of the Kashmiri people (i.e. a plebiscite) would be the fair way to decide whether the region should accede to India or to Pakistan. But, though appealing on the ideal level, this goal has never moved Kashmir toward peace over the many years since its division. It appears that a fresh level of thinking, a thinking outside the box, may be required if this dispute is to be truly resolved.
Dr Muzzammil Siddiqui, former President of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that the conflict of Kashmir was one of the oldest continuing conflicts in the world and the people of Kashmir were the longest suffering people. A resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council in 1948 had stated that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru reaffirmed the Indian Government's commitment to the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own future through a plebiscite. These are all indisputable facts. But still the people of Kashmir are denied their legitimate right of self-determination under one pretext or the other.
He stated that India and Pakistan both needed to go back to their pledges and do what they had promised to each other and to the world. The events of the last 60 years have shown that they are not capable to do it themselves and they need help and encouragement of the Security Council, especially the United States. The solution must come peacefully. All parties have to recognize that violence and wars cannot solve the problem. The solution of this problem will be for the good of all the three parties: the people of Kashmir as well as India and Pakistan.
Dr Ghulam N Mir, President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement said that mass graves containing thousands of bodies found in Uri region had failed to call for an international investigation. Even as we speak, Kashmir is once again under a barbaric siege in nearly all towns and cities including Srinagar, Sopore, Islamabad, Baramulla and Kupwara. 18 innocent youth, some as young as 18 years have been gunned down by Indian troops in two weeks. Life in all major towns has been choked and paralyzed by the shoot-to-kill curfews around the clock. People cannot venture out to buy a loaf of bread, a pound of meat or vegetables, or take their sick to the hospitals. India must demilitarize Kashmir of over 600,000 of its troops stationed in towns, cities and countryside. They are a source of much brutality, terror, fear and moral corruption.
He said that Indian civil society must rise and demand unequivocally that brutality of the military rule in Kashmir over civilian population was wrong and must be stopped. It must demand an end to military and police rule in Kashmir. End of military rule will restore some semblance of public confidence and a sense of security to help pave the way for a peace process. Kashmir is not about to abandon its quest for total and absolute freedom from India. The Kashmiris are committed to their cause and no power in the world would be able to dissuade them to abandon their struggle.
http://www.kmsnews.org/news/kashmir-issue-kashmiris%E2%80%99-right-self-determination-dr-fai
Help to Resolve Kashmir Dispute: Professor Bonney to Obama


Chicago, Illinois. July 8:  Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir center said during a panel discussion entitled, Overcoming Barriers to Realizing the Right of Self-determination" that the Kashmir dispute is primarily the issue of self-determination which is a basic principle of the United Nations Charter that has been applied countless times to the settlement of international disputes.  Although, the applicability of the principle of self-determination to the specific case of Jammu and Kashmir has been explicitly recognized by the United Nations.   It was also upheld equally by both India and Pakistan when the Kashmir dispute was brought before the Security Council in 1948. All the above mentioned statement may be regarded as history but there is no reason why, when the human, political and legal realities of the dispute have only not changed but have become more accentuated with the passage of time, it should now be regarded as irrelevant.  It is no less relevant to the settlement of the dispute than the termination of the Indonesian mandate was to the question of East Timor or than the circumstances of the incorporation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the Soviet Union were to the reassertion of their independence.

No settlement of Kashmir will hold unless it is explicitly based on the principle of self-determination and erases the so-called line of control, which is in reality the line of conflict, Fai concluded.

Professor Richard Bonney, Chairman, Europe � Islamic World Organization, England said Kashmir may, in reality be a more difficult nut to crack than even Palestine. India rejects third party mediation, and the US is therefore unable to act as anything more than a covert honest broker. There is no infrastructure for peacemaking.

An extraordinary meeting held at New Delhi over three days in January 2010, with representatives from both India and Pakistan, produced a final declaration entitled 'A Road Map towards Peace'. The document deserves to be better known. Since Kashmir is the core issue in India-Pakistan relations, the declaration states that 'there must be a genuine and urgent effort to find solutions'. Both India and Pakistan should agree to de-militarize Jammu & Kashmir, the Road Map towards Peace argues. The Indian government should repeal the Armed forces Special Powers Act. Troops should be withdrawn and those guilty of crimes against the people should be punished. The interests of the minorities in Jammu and Kashmir should be protected and the opinions and aspirations of people in all the areas of Kashmir should be considered when solutions to the conflict are being worked out.

Whether it is realistic politics remains another matter. As has remained the case for the 63 years of the dispute, the ball remains very much in India's court. If it wishes to take some action on Kashmir, involving a broad spectrum of Kashmiri opinion, reversing excessive militarization and punishing human rights abuses, it may well find partners to dialogue.

There might even be reason for hope for concessions on the key point of allowing Kashmiris a collective voice in one way or another to determine their own future and thus for an eventual solution to the problem of Kashmir in our own lifetime. India has great power ambitions. Great powers have to show statesmanship and be prepared to make concessions in the greater interests of regional or world peace. When President Obama visits India in November this year, he needs to provide the appropriate encouragement to its government and opposition leaders that now is the time for this to happen.

Professor Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Senior Fellow, Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana said that Kashmir, divided at the time of decolonization/Partition, is one of the longest standing disputes on the United Nations Agenda.  From the first, the U.N. declared that self-determination on the part of the Kashmiri people (i.e. a plebiscite) would be the fair way to decide whether the region should accede to India, to Pakistan, or move to a sovereign status of independence.  But though appealing on the ideal level, this goal has never moved Kashmir toward peace over the many years since its division, over the several major wars fought over its territory.   It appears that a fresh level of thinking, a thinking outside the box, may be required if this dispute is to be truly resolved.

U.S. involvement in Afghanistan following the events of September 11, 2001, may provide a surprising avenue for peace building in Kashmir.   From the first, the U.S. has been calling upon its ally, Pakistan, to devote its military attention to the border area with Afghanistan, where Taliban and al Qaeda militants are at least partially based.  The region has always been only partly under the control of Islamabad, but now the U.S. asks for a new level of control as it searches for its enemies.  But Pakistan's attention is diverted, as it always has been, to the eastern border with India - that is, to Kashmir.  Some policy analysts in the U.S. suggest a new urgency may exist here for resolution of the Kashmir conflict; it is directly in the interests of the U.S. and NATO that the question be settled rather than diversionary for major allies.  One possible suggestion is a round table of representatives from countries in the region, perhaps including the U.S. and NATO only as observers, recognizing for the first time that the Kashmir issue must be solved regionally, putting Kashmiris front and center, and not as a geopolitical issue to be solved by superpowers.

Dr. Muzzammil Siddiqui, former President of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that the conflict of Kashmir was one of the oldest continuing conflicts sin the world and the people of Kashmir are the longest suffering people.

The United Nations Security Council passed resolution # 47 on 21 April 1948 which states that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru reaffirmed the Indian Government's commitment to the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own future through a plebiscite.

These are all indisputable facts. But still the people of Kashmir are denied their legitimate right of self-determination under one pretext or other.

India and Pakistan both have to go back to their pledges and do what they have promised to each other and to the world. The events of the last 60 years have shown that they are not capable to do it themselves. They need help and encouragement of the Security Council, especially the United States. The solution must come peacefully. All parties have to recognize that violence and wars cannot solve the problem. The solution of this problem will be for the good of all the three parties: the people of Kashmir as well as India and Pakistan.

Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement said that mass graves containing thousands of slain bodies found in Uri region have failed to call for an international investigation. India is guilty as charged in our public court of innumerable war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of torture.

Even as we speak, Kashmir is once again under a barbaric siege in nearly all towns and cities- Srinagar, Sopore, Anantnag, Baramullah, Kupwara and many more. 18 innocent youth, some as young as 18 years have been gunned down by the security forces in two weeks. Life in all major towns has been choked and paralyzed by the shoot-to-kill curfews around the clock. People cannot venture out to buy a loaf of bread, a pound of meat or vegetables, or take their sick to the hospitals. If that wasn't enough as a collective punishment, the Hindu parties in the southern province of Jammu with tacit approval of the government Kashmir have imposed a blockade of the only high way to the valley of Kashmir to strangle the economy and force the population in to Indian submission. It is a collusion and a collaboration of the worst kind aimed at driving a wedge between two communities to promote nefarious designs of a government- pitting people against people to achieve political ends.

Indian must demilitarize Kashmir of over 600,000 of its troops stationed in towns, cities and countryside. They are a source of much brutality, terror, fear and moral corruption.
Indian civil society must rise and demand unequivocally that brutality of the military rule in Kashmir over civilian population is wrong and must be stopped. It must demand an end to military and police rule in Kashmir. End of military rule will restore some semblance of public confidence and a sense of security to help pave the way for a peace process.

Kashmir is not about to abandon its quest for total and absolute freedom. They remain convinced of the justness of, and committed to that cause. And no power in the world is going to be able to dissuade them to abandon that struggle.
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showheadlines.php?subaction=showfull&id=1278577925&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&var0news=value0news

1. Category:Jammu and Kashmir freedom struggle - Wikipedia, the free ...

2. Pages in category "Jammu and Kashmir freedom struggle". The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. This list may not reflect recent ...

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Omar convenes all party meet on Monday The Hindu - ‎31 minutes ago‎ PTI Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has convened an all party meeting on Monday to discuss the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir. ... Curbs on Kashmir media counterproductive: Editors Daily News & Analysis - ‎1 hour ago‎ New Delhi: Concerned over the alleged police "high-handedness" against the media in Kashmir, the Editors Guild of India on Thursday said that imposing ... Kashmir Streets Remain Under Army Lockdown Voice of America - ‎3 hours ago‎ Photo: AP Tens of thousands of Indian soldiers continue to patrol the streets of Indian-controlled Kashmir, enforcing a rigid curfew aimed at ending weeks ... Press Guild resents discrimination The Hindu - Shujaat Bukhari - ‎3 hours ago‎ The Hindu School boys walk on a deserted street during curfew in Srinagar on 08, July 2010. Photo: Nissar Ahmad The Press Guild of Kashmir (PGK) has ... Induction of Army into Kashmir in tune with national policy Sify - ‎4 hours ago‎ The cycle of violence that has enveloped Kashmir for almost a month now has finally led to the decision of calling in the Army in support of the Police and ... Q+A-What's happening in Kashmir? Hindustan Times - ‎4 hours ago‎ The government has deployed the army in Srinagar for the first time in nearly two decades to quell huge anti-India protests that have killed 15 people and ... Govt extends curfew in new parts of troubled Kashmir Reuters India - Fayaz Kabli, Sheikh Mushtaq - ‎4 hours ago‎ Policemen stand guard at an entry point to the city during a curfew in Panthachowk on the outskirts of Srinagar July 8, 2010. ... Keep sons indoor: PC to Kashmir parents Oneindia - ‎5 hours ago‎ Srinagar, Jul 8: The state government on Thursday, Jul 8 urged the Kashmir parents to detain their teenage sons indoors in the wake of deaths of several ... Chidambaram says Army deployed as deterrent in Kashmir Valley Sify - ‎5 hours ago‎ Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that Army in Kashmir is on standby duties only for a short period time. Talking to reporters here, ... All 1,060 related articles »

Related Kashmir Srinagar India Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story :. Newspapers fail to hit stands ‎31 minutes ago‎ - Kashmir Watch Army in Srinagar a deterrent: Chidambaram ‎7 hours ago‎ - The Hindu Army stages flag march; curfew strictly enforced in Srinagar ‎Jul 7, 2010‎ - Daily News & Analysis Army out in Srinagar as turmoil worsens ‎Jul 6, 2010‎ - Times of India Kashmir Valley under curfew, restrictions ‎Jul 6, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times 2 dead in police crackdown, Srinagar tense ‎Jul 5, 2010‎ - IBNLive.com Images The Hindu The Hindu Oneindia The Hindu AFP The Hindu DAWN.com New York Times The Hindu All related images » Videos Fresh violence erupts in Kashmir Valley, 4 dead NewsX  -  Jul 6, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/diVMtoSiDHs/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diVMtoSiDHs">Fresh violence erupts in Kashmir Valley, 4 dead</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 6, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diVMtoSiDHs">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

India at war with itself in Chhattisgarh

Page last updated at 10:37 GMT, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 11:37 UK
   

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By Chris Morris
BBC News, Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
"It was the worst example I've ever seen. A fiasco. They didn't stand a chance."
Thus runs retired Brigadier BK Ponwar's brutal assessment of an ambush by Maoist rebels - known locally as Naxalites - which killed 76 paramilitary policemen in Dantewada earlier this year.
A similar attack was staged on Tuesday, when a further 26 policemen were killed in another attack in the same region.
The attack which killed the 76 was the highest loss of life for the security forces in any single attack during the insurgency, which the government calls India's "biggest internal security challenge".
Brig Ponwar runs Chhattisgarh's Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College, which is teaching thousands of police personnel how to fight in the remote forests where the Maoists hold sway.
None of the 76 men who died had been on one of his courses.
But it is the police who are leading the fight against the insurgency.
'Essential'
And over the last few months the government has gone on the offensive against the Maoists.
Continue reading the main story
Once you oppose the violations of human rights and the non-fulfilment of promises on even the most basic welfare programmes, you become the enemy of the state
    Rajendra Sail     Lawyer in Chhattisgarh
"Of course there have to be economic and political measures as well," Brig Ponwar says, between bursts of gunfire on a dusty shooting range.
"But military action is also essential," he adds.
"The other side is following the philosophy of 'power flows from the barrel of the gun'. We have to twist [the insurgents'] military arm, and only then will [they] start talking."
After a sudden increase in Maoist counter-attacks in the last few months, there has been pressure to deploy the army or even the air force in this campaign.
For the moment, that pressure has been resisted.
But in the vast forests of central India, there is no doubt that the state is now trying to reassert control by force.
"If they fight against their own people, they will never win," argues Himanshu Kumar, who worked with tribal communities on rural development projects in Dantewada for years.
A few months ago he fled to Delhi, fearing harassment or worse from powerful local officials.
"These areas were always kept neglected, and the tribals faced exploitation. So the Naxalites grew there," he says.
"If there was peace and comfort, no-one would want to fight."
'Made inroads'
But out in the jungles the Maoists are training as well.
They may have as many as 20,000 men and women at arms - not as well equipped as the security forces, but familiar with the terrain, and with the hit-and-run tactics of roadside bombs and ambushes.
Their plan, unlikely as it sounds, is to overthrow the Indian state by 2050.
The Maoists have made inroads in nearly a third of India's 630 districts, but they are at their strongest in six central and eastern states which have been dubbed the "Red Corridor".
They have killed a growing number of civilians in their attacks, but they have also been spreading their message in places where the state has become perilously weak and unpopular.
The authorities have responded by accusing many human rights groups of failing to criticise terrorism.
"Civil society has been exposing the activities of the state," says Rajendra Sail, a prominent lawyer in Chhattisgarh.
"Once you oppose the violations of human rights and the non-fulfilment of promises on even the most basic welfare programmes, you become the enemy of the state."
And for many tribal communities in rural Chhattisgarh the state is either absent, or it is part of the problem.
'Not welcome'
In the village of Dhura the soil is fertile and the crops are good.
Bullocks are pulling handmade wooden ploughs, and children are planting corn seeds.
But this land has been promised to one of India's largest companies, Tata Steel, for a new steel plant.
It is the kind of big development project the government believes can turn the tide in long-neglected regions.
But in Dhuragaon, at least, the attention isn't welcome.
"We don't want to sell our land," says Sree Ram, a village leader.
"We keep saying no, and they just don't listen. What would you do if someone wants to take away something you don't want to give?"
Manisfest failings
The villagers say they will fight within the law, but some protests against the steel plant have turned violent.
It is exactly the kind of resentment and alienation which the Maoists rely upon to bolster their cause.
At a local tribal market, people are selling vegetables as well as the nuts and berries they have gathered in the forests.
For all its manifest failings the Maoist movement seems to understand what makes many of these people tick.
But the government still believes the right kind of development is the answer.
"The Maoists don't want development to take place, because keeping the people illiterate and underdeveloped suits them," argues India's Home Secretary GK Pillai.
He admits that for years officials in Delhi have been guilty of under-estimating the threat the Maoists pose.
Not any more, he declares.
"They don't believe in parliamentary democracy," he says, "and they want to overthrow the state by force. We have to stand up to that."
So it is a clash of ideologies, in some of this country's poorest places.
The government knows there is no quick fix solution. It will take years to resolve.
"Two to three years to turn the tide," Mr Pillai insists, "and another few years before we can effectively control them."
But many people still question the government's tactics.
And in this land of natural beauty, far from the big cities, India is at war with itself.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10446513.stm

Indian army marches through Srinagar streets

Page last updated at 13:00 GMT, Wednesday, 7 July 2010 14:00 UK
   

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Indian army soldiers have marched through Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, in a show of force to help quell street protests.
A curfew is being strictly enforced in parts of the Kashmir Valley after a wave of violence between protesters and police over the past month.
Police and paramilitaries have been deployed in Srinagar and several towns are under curfew.
Some 14 civilians have died in clashes with security forces since June.
Correspondents say the Indian government is concerned over the situation, especially as the country's foreign minister is due to hold talks with Pakistan next week.
Kashmir is an issue that has long affected relations between the two countries which both claim the territory in its entirety - the Indian government has already accused Pakistan-based militant groups of instigating the latest protests.
Hundreds of thousands of troops are based in Kashmir to fight a two-decade insurgency against Indian rule.
The state government sought the army's help on Tuesday evening after three civilians were killed in police firing, the BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar reports.
The federal government has yet to decide whether to deploy the army in Kashmir.
Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai is travelling to Srinagar to decide whether more troops should be deployed.
"We are out to give support to the state machinery. We are ready to move anywhere, anytime," the Associated Press news agency quoted army spokesman Col Vineet Sood as saying.
A defence spokesman, Lt Col JS Brar, told the BBC that the army had conducted "a flag march" on the outskirts of Srinagar city, particularly on the road leading to the airport.
'Tension continues'
Lt Col Brar said the army had not been deployed anywhere in the city.
A curfew has been imposed in Srinagar and is being strictly enforced by the police and paramilitaries who are deployed in strength, our correspondent says.
The curfew in Anantnag has now been in place for eight consecutive days - since three people were killed by police there last week - and there is no sign of the tension diminishing, he says.
Most of the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley has either been under a curfew or shut down for weeks because of protests over the killing of civilians by police and paramilitary forces.
Many of the recent deaths have been blamed on the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has defended the security forces, saying they cannot be expected to show restraint all the time when they are being pelted with stones.

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KASHMIR FLASHPOINT

TWENTY YEARS ON

                                             

• Twenty years on

• A look back at what started the Kashmir insurgency in 1989

• Coming out of conflict trauma

• Election blues

• Grieving families: Why did our sons die?

• Rising tensions over shrine land

• Missed chances for peace

• Changing priorities

                                          

BACKGROUND

                                             

• Q&A: Kashmir dispute

• Who are the militants?

• Kashmir quick guide

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CLICKABLE GUIDE

                                             

• Kashmir's future?

                                          
        
            

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Kashmir streets under army lockdown to end protest The Associated Press - Aijaz Hussain - ‎3 hours ago‎ SRINAGAR, India — Tens of thousands of soldiers patrolled the streets in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday to enforce a rigid curfew aimed at ending weeks of violent anti-government protests. Shops and schools were closed, streets ringed with ... Omar convenes all party meet on Monday The Hindu - ‎45 minutes ago‎ PTI Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has convened an all party meeting on Monday to discuss the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting, which will take place on July 12 afternoon, will be preceded by another meeting of legislators of ... Press Guild resents discrimination The Hindu - Shujaat Bukhari - ‎4 hours ago‎ The Hindu School boys walk on a deserted street during curfew in Srinagar on 08, July 2010. Photo: Nissar Ahmad The Press Guild of Kashmir (PGK) has expressed serious resentment against the government that has virtually banned the local media but was ... Govt extends curfew in new parts of troubled Kashmir Reuters India - Fayaz Kabli, Sheikh Mushtaq - ‎5 hours ago‎ Policemen stand guard at an entry point to the city during a curfew in Panthachowk on the outskirts of Srinagar July 8, 2010. SRINAGAR India (Reuters) - Authorities extended a curfew to new parts of India-controlled Kashmir on Thursday after the army ... Curfew continues in most parts of Kashmir All India Radio - ‎32 minutes ago‎ Two days after Army was called in Srinagar city to help security forces enforce curfew, calm prevails in the city and other curfew bound towns in the valley. Curfew was relaxed in Kulgam and Kimotowns for three hours. It however continued in ten other ... Govt mulls dialogue in J&K after normalcy The Hindu - ‎5 hours ago‎ PTI The Hindu An army vehicle at a street in Srinagar on Thursday. Army staged flag marches in curfew-bound Srinagar. Photo: Nissar Ahmad In the midst of deterioration in law and order and taking the help of army, government has not given up plans of ... Induction of Army into Kashmir in tune with national policy Sify - ‎4 hours ago‎ The cycle of violence that has enveloped Kashmir for almost a month now has finally led to the decision of calling in the Army in support of the Police and the Paramilitary forces. This is the time to evolve new ideas that provide viable long term ... PGK Expressed Serious Antipathy over Discrimination FV Current Waves - Prathibha Prahlad - ‎21 minutes ago‎ The Press Guild of Kashmir (PGK) has spoken of serious antipathy against the Government that has practically prohibited the local media but was trying to expand all facilities to media persons who came from Delhi and other regions of India to cover the ... Is the army deployment in Srinagar driven by panic? Stock Watch - Ketan Sharma - ‎3 hours ago‎ Soldiers from the Srinagar based 31 sub-area command of the army, around half a company of them, rode to the airport from the cantonment early in the morning. The troops returned in the afternoon driving through the tense atmosphere in the inner-city ... All 1,367 related articles »

Related Kashmir Srinagar India Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story Curfew continues in most parts of Kashmir ‎32 minutes ago‎ - All India Radio Army in Srinagar a deterrent: Chidambaram ‎7 hours ago‎ - The Hindu Army stages flag march; curfew strictly enforced in Srinagar ‎Jul 7, 2010‎ - Daily News & Analysis Press Guild condemns curbs in Kashmir ‎Jul 7, 2010‎ - The Hindu Army out in Srinagar as turmoil worsens ‎Jul 6, 2010‎ - Times of India Kashmir Valley under curfew, restrictions ‎Jul 6, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times 2 dead in police crackdown, Srinagar tense ‎Jul 5, 2010‎ - IBNLive.com Images The Hindu The Hindu All India Radio The Hindu Stock Watch The Hindu The Hindu The Hindu The Hindu All related images » Videos Fresh violence erupts in Kashmir Valley, 4 dead NewsX  -  Jul 6, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/diVMtoSiDHs/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diVMtoSiDHs">Fresh violence erupts in Kashmir Valley, 4 dead</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Jul 6, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diVMtoSiDHs">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

Kashmir

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Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about geographical region of Kashmir. For other uses, see Kashmir (disambiguation).

Political Map: the Kashmir region districts, showing the Pir Panjal range and the Valley of Kashmir.

Ninth-highest: The Nanga Parbat mountain, a most dangerous climb, is in the Kashmiri region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan

Kashmir (Kashmiri: कॅशीर, کٔشِیر; Dogri: कश्मीर; Ladakhi: ཀཤམིར; Balti: کشمیر; Gojri: کشمیر; Poonchi/Chibhali: کشمیر; Shina: کشمیر; Uyghur: كەشمىر) is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range.^{[citation needed]} Contemporarily, Kashmir denotes a larger area that includes the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh), the Pakistani administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract. The United Nations,^[1] and other local entities, use the designation Jammu and Kashmir to geographically denote said area.

According to the Mahabharata,^[2] the Kambojas ruled Kashmir during the epic period with a Republican system of government ^[3][4][5] In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism arose.^[6] In 1349, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and inaugurated the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Swati dynasty.^[7] For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including the Mughals, who ruled from 1526 until 1751, then the Afghan Durrani Empire that ruled from 1747 until 1820.^[7] That year, the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir.^[7] In 1846, upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Dogras—under Gulab Singh—became the new rulers. Dogra Rule, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.^{[citation needed]}

Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Buddhism and Hinduism in Kashmir 2.2 Muslim rule 2.3 First Muslim Ruler, Shah Mir Swati 2.4 Sikh rule and Princely State 2.5 Year 1947 and 1948 2.6 Post-1948 developments 3 Current status and political divisions 4 Kashmir valley 5 Demographics 6 Culture and cuisine 7 Economy 8 History of Tourism in Kashmir 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

Etymology

General view of Temple and Enclosure of Marttand (the Sun), at Bhawan, ca. A.D. 490–555; the colonnade ca. A.D. 693–729. Surya Temple at Martand, Jammu & Kashmir, photographed by John Burke, 1868.

The Nilamata Purana describes the Valley's origin from the waters; का Ka ("water") + शिमिरि Shimir ("to desiccate"), hence, Kaashmir denotes "a land desiccated from water". An alternate nominal origin theory proposes that Kaashmir is a contraction of either Kashyap-mira or Kashyapmir or Kashyapmeru, denoting the "sea of Kashyapa" and the "mountain of Kashyapa", eponyms of Kashyapa, the sage credited with having drained the primordial Satisar lake that occupied the Kaashmir valley before he reclaimed it from the water. Considering the Valley an embodiment of the goddess Uma, the Nilamata Purana gives it the place-name Kaashmira, from which derives the contemporary Kashmir place-name. Nonetheless, the Kaashmiris colloquially use the place-name Kashir, which is phonetically derived from Kaashmir, as noted in the Aurel Stein introduction to the Rajatarangini metrical chronicle.

In the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in the 12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kaashmir was formerly a lake. This was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). Cashmere is a variant spelling of Kaashmir.^[8]

History

Main article: History of Kashmir

Buddhism and Hinduism in Kashmir

Further information: Buddhism in Kashmir

This general view of the unexcavated Buddhist stupa near Baramulla, with two figures standing on the summit, and another at the base with measuring scales, was taken by John Burke in 1868. The stupa, which was later excavated, dates to 500 CE

The Buddhist Mauryan emperor Ashoka is often credited with having founded the old capital of Kashmir, Shrinagari, now ruins on the outskirts of modern Srinagar. Kashmir was long to be a stronghold of Buddhism.^[9]

As a Buddhist seat of learning, it is possible that the Sarvāstivādan school dominated Kashmir.^[10] East and Central Asian Buddhist monks are recorded as having visited the kingdom. In the late 4th century AD, the famous Kuchanese monk Kumārajīva, born to an Indian noble family, studied Dīrghāgama and Madhyāgama in Kashmir under Bandhudatta. He later became a prolific translator who helped take Buddhism to China. His mother Jīva is thought to have retired to Kashmir. Vimalākṣa, a Sarvāstivādan Buddhist monk, travelled from Kashmir to Kucha and there instructed Kumārajīva in the Vinayapiṭaka.

Adi Shankara visited the pre-existing Sarvajñapīṭha (Sharada Peeth) in Kashmir in late 8th century CE or early 9th Century CE. The Madhaviya Shankaravijayam states this temple had four doors for scholars from the four cardinal directions. The southern door (representing South India) had never been opened, indicating that no scholar from South India had entered the Sarvajna Pitha. Adi Shankara opened the southern door by defeating in debate all the scholars there in all the various scholastic disciplines such as Mimamsa, Vedanta and other branches of Hindu philosophy; he ascended the throne of Transcendent wisdom of that temple.^[11]

Abhinavagupta (approx. 950 - 1020 AD^[12][13]) was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians. He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exeget, theologian, and logician^[14][15] - a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture.^[16][17]

He was born in the Valley of Kashmir^[18] in a family of scholars and mystics and studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus.^[19] In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is Tantrāloka, an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Trika and Kaula (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabhāratī commentary of Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata Muni.^[20]

Muslim rule

Gateway of enclosure, (once a Hindu temple) of Zein-ul-ab-ud-din's Tomb, in Srinagar. Probable date A.D. 400 to 500, 1868. John Burke. Oriental and India Office Collection. British Library.

The Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir lived in relative harmony, since the Sufi-Islamic way of life that Muslims followed in Kashmir complemented the Rishi tradition of Kashmiri Pandits.^{[citation needed]} This led to a syncretic culture where Hindus and Muslims revered the same local saints and prayed at the same shrines ^{[citation needed]}. Famous sufi saint Bulbul Shah was able to convert Rinchan Shah who was then prince of Kashgar Ladakh to an Islamic lifestyle, thus founding the Sufiana composite culture. Under this rule, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Kashmiris generally co-existed peacefully. Over time, however, the Sufiana governance gave way to outright Muslim monarchs^[21] due to eternal Islamic policies as per 'Holy' Quran.^[22][23]

First Muslim Ruler, Shah Mir Swati

In the beginning of 14th century a ferocious Mongol, Dulucha, invaded the valley through its northern side Zojila Pass, with an army of 60,000 men. Like Taimur in the Punjab and Delhi, Dulucha carried sword and fire, destroyed towns and villages and slaughtered thousands. His savage attack practically ended the Hindu rule in Kashmir. Raja Sahadev was the ruler then. It was during his reign that three men, Shah Mir from Swat (tribal) territory on the borders of Afghanistan, Rinchin from Ladhak, and Lankar Chak from Dard territory near Gilgit came to Kashmir, and played a notable role in subsequentive political history of the valley. All the three men were granted Jagirs by the King. Rinchin for 3 years became the ruler of Kashmir.

After the King, Shams-ud-Din Shah Mir Swati was the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and the founder of the Shah Miri dynasty named after him. Jonaraja, in his Rajatarangini mentioned him as Sahamera. He came from Swat, the then (Tribal) territory on the borders of Afghanistan and played a notable role in subsequentive political history of the valley. Shahmir became the ruler of Kashmir and reigned for three years.He was the first ruler of Swati dynasty, which had established in 1339. Shah Mir was succeeded by his eldest son Jamshid, but he was deposed by his brother Ali Sher probably within few months, who ascended the throne under the name of Alauddin[1]

Some Kashmiri rulers, such as Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin who was popularly known as Baadshah (the King) (r.1423-1474), were tolerant of all religions in a manner comparable to Akbar. However, several Muslim rulers of Kashmir were intolerant of other religions. Sultãn Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) is often considered the worst of these. Historians have recorded many of his atrocities. The Tarikh-i-Firishta records that Sikandar persecuted the Hindus and issued orders proscribing the residence of any other than Muslims in Kashmir. He also ordered the breaking of all "golden and silver images". The Tarikh-i-Firishta further states: "Many of the Brahmins, rather than abandon their religion or their country, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped. After the emigration of the Brahmins, Sikandar ordered all the temples in Kashmir to be thrown down. Having broken all the images in Kashmir, (Sikandar) acquired the title of 'Destroyer of Idols'."^[24]

The metrical chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, called Rajatarangini, has been pronounced by Professor H.H.Wilson to be the only Sanskrit composition yet discovered to which the appellation "history" can with any propriety be applied. It first became known to the Muslims when, on Akbar's invasion of Kashmir in 1588, a copy was presented to the emperor. A translation into Persian was made at his order. A summary of its contents, taken from this Persian translation, is given by Abul Fazl in the Ain-i-Akbari. The Rajatarangini was written by Kalhana about the middle of the 12th century. His work, in six books, makes use of earlier writings that are now lost.

The Rajatarangini is the first of a series of four histories that record the annals of Kashmir. Commencing with a rendition of traditional history of very early times, the Rajatarangini comes down to the reign of Sangrama Deva, (c.1006 AD). The second work, by Jonaraja, continues the history from where Kalhana left off, and, entering the Muslim period, gives an account of the reigns down to that of Zain-ul-ab-ad-din, 1412. P. Srivara carried on the record to the accession of Fah Shah in 1486. The fourth work, called Rajavalipataka, by Prajnia Bhatta, completes the history to the time of the incorporation of Kashmir in the dominions of the Mogul emperor Akbar, 1588.

Sikh rule and Princely State

Main article: Princely state of Kashmir and Jammu

1909 Map of the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu. The names of regions, important cities, rivers, and mountains are underlined in red.

By the early 19th century, the Kashmir valley had passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan, and four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghans, to the conquering Sikh armies. Earlier, in 1780, after the death of Ranjit Deo, the Raja of Jammu, the kingdom of Jammu (to the south of the Kashmir valley) was captured by the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of Lahore and afterwards, until 1846, became a tributary to the Sikh power.^[25] Ranjit Deo's grandnephew, Gulab Singh, subsequently sought service at the court of Ranjit Singh, distinguished himself in later campaigns, especially the annexation of the Kashmir valley by the Sikhs army in 1819, and, for his services, was appointed governor of Jammu in 1820. With the help of his officer, Zorawar Singh, Gulab Singh soon captured Ladakh and Baltistan, regions to the east and north-east of Jammu.^[25]

In 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War broke out, and Gulab Singh "contrived to hold himself aloof till the battle of Sobraon (1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of Sir Henry Lawrence. Two treaties were concluded, of which the first gave the State of Lahore (i.e. West Punjab) to the British, whereas the second gave all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east of Indus and west of Ravi" (i.e. the Vale of Kashmir) to Gulab Singh.^[25][26] Soon after Gulab Singh's death in 1857, his son, Ranbir Singh, added the emirates of Hunza, Gilgit and Nagar to the kingdom.

Portrait of Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1847, a year after signing the Treaty of Amritsar, when he became Maharaja by purchasing the territories of Kashmir "to the eastward of the river Indus and westward of the river Ravi"^[27] for 75 lakhs rupees from the British (Artist: James Duffield Harding).

The Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it was then called) was constituted between 1820 and 1858 and was "somewhat artificial in composition and it did not develop a fully coherent identity, partly as a result of its disparate origins and partly as a result of the autocratic rule which it experienced on the fringes of Empire."^[28] It combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities: to the east, Ladakh was ethnically and culturally Tibetan and its inhabitants practised Buddhism; to the south, Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; in the heavily populated central Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority, the Kashmiri brahmins or pandits; to the northeast, sparsely populated Baltistan had a population ethnically related to Ladakh, but which practised Shi'a Islam; to the north, also sparsely populated, Gilgit Agency, was an area of diverse, mostly Shi'a groups; and, to the west, Punch was Muslim, but of different ethnicity than the Kashmir valley.^[28] After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which Kashmir sided with the British, and the subsequent assumption of direct rule by Great Britain, the princely state of Kashmir came under the suzerainty of the British Crown.

Year 1947 and 1948

Further information: Kashmir conflict, Timeline of the Kashmir conflict, and Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

The prevailing religions by district in the 1901 Census of the Indian Empire.

Ranbir Singh's grandson Hari Singh, who had ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent partition of the British Indian Empire into the newly independent Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. As parties to the partition process, both countries had agreed that the rulers of princely states would be given the right to opt for either Pakistan or India or—in special cases—to remain independent. Kashmir's population was overall 77 per cent Muslim but with internal areas of non-Muslim majority. It shared a boundary with both India and Pakistan. Pakistan anticipated that the Maharaja would accede to Pakistan, when the British paramountcy ended on 14–15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan launched a guerrilla infiltration of Pashtun tribals meant to frighten its ruler into submission^[29]. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten^[30] for assistance, and the Governor-General agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India."^[31] Once the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession, "Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The United Nations was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars."^[31]

In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices; however, since the plebiscite demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India and Pakistan soured,^[31] and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir in 1965 and 1999. India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir; Pakistan controls a third of the region, the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character, was thinly populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valey of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in Indian-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked."^[32]

The Karakash River (Black Jade River) which flows north from its source near the town of Sumde in Aksai Chin, to cross the Kunlun Mountains.

Topographic map of Kasmir.

The UN Security Council on 20 January 1948 passed Resolution 39, establishing a special commission to investigate the conflict. Subsequent to the commission's recommendation, the Security Council ordered in its Resolution 47, passed on 21 April 1948, that the invading Pakistani army retreat from Jammu & Kashmir and that the accession of Kashmir to either India or Pakistan be determined in accordance with a plebiscite to be supervised by the UN. With Pakistan not forgoing its occupation from what it later termed as Azad Kashmir, none of the resolutions of UNSC could come to force.

Post-1948 developments

Main articles: Kashmir conflict, Jammu and Kashmir, and Azad Kashmir

The eastern region of the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir has also been beset with a boundary dispute. In the late 19th- and early 20th centuries, although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and the official Chinese position did not change with the communist takeover in 1949. By the mid-1950s the Chinese army had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.^[32]

"By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the Aksai Chin area to provide better communication between Xinjiang and western Tibet. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino-Indian war of October 1962."^[32]

China has occupied Aksai Chin since the early 1950s and, in addition, an adjoining region almost 8% of the territory, the Trans-Karakoram Tract was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963.

Meanwhile, elections were held in Indian Jammu & Kashmir, which brought up the popular Muslim leader Sheikh Abdullah, who with his party National Conference, by and large supported India. The elected Constituent Assembly met for the first time in Srinagar on October 31, 1951.^[33] Then The State Constituent Assembly ratified the accession of the State to the Union of India on February 6, 1954 and the President of India subsequently issued the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution extending the Union Constitution to the State with some exceptions and modifications. The State's own Constitution came into force on January 26, 1957 under which the elections to the State Legislative Assembly were held for the first time on the basis of adult franchise the same year. This Constitution further reiterated the ratification of the State's accession to Union of India.^[33] However, these tidings were not recognized by Pakistan, which has continued to press for a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the people. Pakistan set up its own Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir in a tiny Western chunk that it controls. The much larger region of Pakistani Kashmir in the North-West, which was a province named Northern Areas in the erstwhile state, by and large bore no mention in Pakistani laws and Constitution as being of any status, until in 1982 the Pakistani President General Zia ul Haq proclaimed that the people of the Northern Areas were Pakistanis and had nothing to do with the State of Jammu and Kashmir.^[34]

Current status and political divisions

Main articles: Aksai Chin, Azad Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan

Populous Kashmir valley (Bordered in brown),^[35] Jammu and Ladakh are in Indian controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whereas Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls 101,338 km² (39,127 sq mi) of the disputed territory, Pakistan 85,846 km² (33,145 sq mi) and China, the remaining 37,555 km² (14,500 sq mi).

Jammu and Azad Kashmir lie outside Pir Panjal range, and are under Indian and Pakistani control respectively. These are populous regions. The main cities are Mirpur, Dadayal, Kotli, Bhimber Jammu, Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot.

The Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly called Northern Areas, are a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the Karakoram, the western Himalayas, the Pamir, and the Hindu Kush ranges. With its administrative center at the town of Gilgit, the Northern Areas cover an area of 72,971 km² (28,174 mi²) and have an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. The other main city is Skardu.

Ladakh is a region in the east, between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south.^[36] Main cities are Leh and Kargil. It is under Indian administration and is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.^[36]

Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude desert of salt that reaches altitudes up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft). Geographically part of the Tibetan Plateau, Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain. The region is almost uninhabited, and has no permanent settlements.

Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing line of control established by the United Nations. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire.

Kashmir valley

Kashmir valley seen from satellite. Snow capped Pir Panjal range separates the valley from plains.

The Kashmir valley or Vale of Kashmir is a valley between Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. It is around 135 km long and 32 km wide, formed by the Jhelum River.^[35] It was called as "Paradise on Earth" by Jahangir. Currently it has population of around 4 million, mostly Muslim.

It lies completely within Indian administration in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Srinagar is its main city and also the summer capital of the state. Other main cities are Anantnag and Baramulla. There has been armed insurgency since 1989 due to the conflict. It has access to the rest of India through Banihal Tunnel near Qazigund on NH 1A to Jammu, which is interrupted by snowfall in winter. The popular tourist places in the valley are Gulmarg, Dal Lake, Pahalgam, Amarnath temple etc.

Demographics

In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, Muslims constituted 74.16% of the total population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu, Hindus, 23.72%, and Buddhists, 1.21%. The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 70% of the population.^[37] In the Kashmir Valley, Muslims constituted 95.6% of the population and Hindus 3.24%.^[37] These percentages have remained fairly stable for the last 100 years.^[38] Forty years later, in the 1941 Census of British India, Muslims accounted for 93.6% of the population of the Kashmir Valley and the Hindus for 4%.^[38] In 2003, the percentage of Muslims in the Kashmir Valley was 95%^[39] and those of Hindus 4%; the same year, in Jammu, the percentage of Hindus was 66% and those of Muslims 30%.^[39] In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these 2,154,695 were Muslims (74.16%), 689,073 Hindus (23.72%), 25,828 Sikhs, and 35,047 Buddhists.

A Muslim shawl making family shown in Cashmere shawl manufactory, 1867, chromolith., William Simpson.

Among the Muslims of the princely state, four divisions were recorded: "Shaikhs, Saiyids, Mughals, and Pathans. The Shaikhs, who are by far the most numerous, are the descendants of Hindus, but have retained none of the caste rules of their forefathers. They have clan names known as krams ..."^[37] It was recorded that these kram names included "Tantre," "Shaikh,", "Bhat", "Mantu," "Ganai," "Dar," "Damar," "Lon" etc. The Saiyids, it was recorded "could be divided into those who follow the profession of religion and those who have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. Their kram name is "Mir." While a Saiyid retains his saintly profession Mir is a prefix; if he has taken to agriculture, Mir is an affix to his name."^[37] The Mughals who were not numerous were recorded to have kram names like "Mir" (a corruption of "Mirza"), "Beg," "Bandi," "Bach," and "Ashaye." Finally, it was recorded that the Pathans "who are more numerous than the Mughals, ... are found chiefly in the south-west of the valley, where Pathan colonies have from time to time been founded. The most interesting of these colonies is that of Kuki-Khel Afridis at Dranghaihama, who retain all the old customs and speak Pashtu."^[37] Among the main tribes of Muslims in the princely state are the Butts, Dar, Lone, Jat, Gujjar, Rajput, Sudhan and Khatri. A small number of Butts, Dar and Lone use the title Khawaja and the Khatri use the title Shaikh the Jats may often use the title of Chaudhary. All these tribes are indigenous of the princely state and many Hindus also belong to these tribes.

The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population.^[37] In the Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented "524 in every 10,000 of the population (i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontier wazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)."^[37] In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641.^[37] Among the Hindus of Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were "Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the Khattris (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."^[37]

In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the second world war, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).^[40]

According to political scientist Alexander Evans, 1,00,000 of the total population of 7,00,000 of Kashmir Hindus or Brahmins, also called Kashmiri Pandits since Kashmiri Hindus has no caste system as Vedic Arya Hindus (Kashmir described as Aryan homeland by many famous scholars^[41]), left the state of Jammu and Kashmir while 3,00,000 internally displaced are in UN refugee camps of Jammu & Udhampur since 1990 as Islamic violence engulfed the state.^[42] According to the CIA Factbook chapter on India, approximately another 3,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits from the state of Jammu and Kashmir are killed or missing^[43] and 35,000 of their womenfolk raped by their very neighbours during attacks by majority Muslim community which has not stopped till now in spite of the continued presence of over half a million Indian army personnel in Kashmir since 1947. ^[44][45]

Administered by	Area	Population	% Muslim	% Hindu	% Buddhist	% Other
India	Kashmir Valley	~4 million	95%	4%*	–	–
	Jammu	~3 million	30%	66%	–	4%
	Ladakh	~0.25 million	50%	–	46%	3%
Pakistan	Azad Kashmir	~2.6 million	100%	–	–	–
	Northern Areas	~1 million	99%	–	–	–
China	Aksai Chin	–	–	–	–	–
Statistics from the BBC In Depth report. About 135,000 Hindus/Muslims in Indian Administered Kashmir are internally displaced due to militancy. - CIA

Culture and cuisine

Brokpa women from Kargil, northern Ladakh, in local costumes

Further information: Cuisine of Kashmir, Wazwan, Kashmiri literature, Kashmiri music, and Kashmiri Pandit Festivals

Kashmiri cuisine includes dum aloo (boiled potatoes with heavy amounts of spice), tzaman (a solid cottage cheese), rogan josh (lamb cooked in heavy spices), yakhiyn (lamb cooked in curd with mild spices), hakh (a spinach-like leaf), rista-gushtaba (minced meat balls in tomato and curd curry),danival korme and of course the signature rice which is particular to Asian cultures. The traditional wazwan feast involves cooking meat or vegetables, usually mutton, in several different ways.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited in most places. There are two styles of making tea in the region: nun chai, or salt tea, which is pink in colour (known as chinen posh rang or peach flower colour) and popular with locals; and kahwah, a tea for festive occasions, made with saffron and spices (cardamom, cinamon,sugar, noon chai leaves) , and lipton tea.

Economy

Further information: Economy of Azad Kashmir and Economy of Jammu and Kashmir

Tourism is one of the main sources of income for vast sections of the Kashmiri population. Shown here is the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Skardu in the Northern Areas, is the point of departure for mountaineering expeditions in the Karakorams.

Kashmir's economy is centred around agriculture. Traditionally the staple crop of the valley was rice, which formed the chief food of the people. In addition, Indian corn, wheat, barley and oats were also grown. Given its temperate climate, it is suited for crops like asparagus, artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in the valley, and the cultivated orchards yield pears, apples, peaches, and cherries. The chief trees are deodar, firs and pines, chenar or plane, maple, birch and walnut, apple, cherry.

Historically, Kashmir became known worldwide when Cashmere wool was exported to other regions and nations (exports have ceased due to decreased abundance of the cashmere goat and increased competition from China). Kashmiris are well adept at knitting and making Pashmina shawls, silk carpets, rugs, kurtas, and pottery. Saffron, too, is grown in Kashmir. Efforts are on to export the naturally grown fruits and vegetables as organic foods mainly to the Middle East. Srinagar is known for its silver-work, papier mache, wood-carving, and the weaving of silk.

The economy was badly damaged by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which, as of October 8, 2005, resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir and around 1,500 deaths in Indian controlled Kashmir.

The Indian-administered portion of Kashmir is believed to have potentially rich rocks containing hydrocarbon reserves.^[46][47]

History of Tourism in Kashmir

During the 19th century rule, Kashmir was a popular tourist destination due to its climate. Only 200 passes a year were issued by the government. European sportsmen and travellers, in addition to residents of India, traveled there freely. The railway to Rawalpindi, and a road thence to Srinagar made access to the valley easier. When the temperature in Srinagar rose at the beginning of June, the residents migrated to Gulmarg, which was a fashionable hill station during British rule. This great influx of visitors resulted in a corresponding diminution of game for the sportsmen. Special game preservation rules were introduced, and nullahs were let out for stated periods with a restriction on the number of head to be shot. Rawalakot was another popular destination.

See also

• United Nations Security Council Resolution 47
• Line of Control
• Kashmir Conflict
• Who's Who of Kashmir
• Kargil War
• 2005 Kashmir earthquake
• List of Jammu and Kashmir related articles
• Srinagar

References

1. ^ http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmogip/
2. ^ MBH 7.4.5.
3. ^ MBH 7/91/39-40.
4. ^ Mahabharata 7.4.5
5. ^ Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the ..., 1953, p 150, Dr H. C Raychaudhuri - India; Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India: (a Study on the Puranic Lists of the ..., 1955, p 78, Dr S. B. Chaudhuri; An Analytical Study of Four Nikāyas, 1971, p 311, D. K.Barua - Tipiṭaka.
6. ^ Basham, A. L. (2005) The wonder that was India, Picador. Pp. 572. ISBN 033043909X, p. 110.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 93-95.
8. ^ "Kaashmir." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.
9. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass 2000, page 256.
10. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass 2000, pages 263-264.
11. ^ Tapasyananda, Swami (2002). Sankara-Dig-Vijaya. pp. 186–195. 
12. ^ Triadic Heart of Shiva, Paul E. Muller-Ortega, page 12
13. ^ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 27
14. ^ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4
15. ^ Key to the Vedas, Nathalia Mikhailova, page 169
16. ^ The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, page 12
17. ^ Companion to Tantra, S.C. Banerji, page 89
18. ^ Doctrine of Divine Recognition, K. C. Pandey, page V
19. ^ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35
20. ^ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page LXXVII
21. ^ http://www.historyofjihad.org/india.html
22. ^ http://www.islam-watch.org/AliSina/from_rags_to_riches.htm
23. ^ 'Over time, however, the Sufiana governance gave way to outright Muslim monarchs' appears in the article which is true but no explanation for it is given which I provided. The reason is Islamic requirement to turn the world into Darul Islam as per Koran and hence link of the 'Holy' Quran with the appropriate verses was quoted as reference (just click the verses in link to see them in Koranic perspective). Another was a site on the History of Jihad in India with special reference to Kashmir which by any standards are most reliable sources and none can ignore Quranic instructions as non-reliable sources while discussing on Islam & its nature, in this case Islamic Government. Likewise without history of jihad the article is incomplete not only in elucidating the quoted line at the top but also in writing about overall Muslim rule in Kashmir!
24. ^ Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh Firishta : Tãrîkh-i-Firishta, translated by John Briggs under the title "History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India." First published in 1829, New Delhi Reprint 1981.
25. ^ ^{a b c} Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. "Kashmir: History." pp. 94-95.
26. ^ Treaty of Amritsar, March 16, 1846.
27. ^ From the text of the Treaty of Amritsar, signed March 16, 1846.
28. ^ ^{a b} Bowers, Paul. 2004. "Kashmir." Research Paper 4/28, International Affairs and Defence, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom.
29. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,793895,00.html
30. ^ Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, stayed on in independent India from 1947 to 1948, serving as the first Governor-General of the Union of India.
31. ^ ^{a b c} Stein, Burton. 1998. A History of India. Oxford University Press. 432 pages. ISBN 0195654463. Page 368.
32. ^ ^{a b c} Kashmir. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
33. ^ ^{a b} "Major Events". Jammu and Kashmir Government, India. http://jammukashmir.nic.in/profile/majev.htm#1. Retrieved 2007-01-09. 
34. ^ "A Comprehensive Note on Jammu & Kashmir: The Northern Areas". Embassy of India, Washington D.C.. http://www.indianembassy.org/policy/Kashmir/Kashmir_MEA/Northern_Areas.html. Retrieved 2007-01-09. 
35. ^ ^{a b} http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312921/Vale-of-Kashmir
36. ^ ^{a b} Jina, Prem Singh (1996). Ladakh: The Land and the People. Indus Publishing. ISBN 8173870578. 
37. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 99-102.
38. ^ ^{a b} Rai, Mridu. 2004. Hindu Ruler, Muslim Subjects: Islam and the History of Kashmir. Princeton University Press. 320 pages. ISBN 0691116881. p. 37.
39. ^ ^{a b} BBC. 2003. The Future of Kashmir? In Depth.
40. ^ Brush, J. E. 1949. "The Distribution of Religious Communities in India" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 39(2):81-98.
41. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8VnAk14pODsC&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=kashmir+is+aryan+homeland&source=bl&ots=AHbcaP7ixW&sig=TFzyL0AClsBU8WjEokR-N1yk9Uw&hl=en&ei=lXAGTLPrFYK7rAeFrqjnDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CEQQ6AEwCQ
42. ^ Evans, Alexander. 2002. "A departure from history: Kashmiri Pandits, 1990-2001" Contemporary South Asia, 11(1):19-37.
43. ^ http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/jammu_&_kashmir_liberation_front.htm
44. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/Under-renewed-threats-pandits-may-flee-the-Valley/H1-Article1-477268.aspx
45. ^ CIA Factbook: India–Transnational Issues
46. ^ Iftikhar Gilani (2008-10-22). "Italian company to pursue oil exploration in Kashmir". Daily Times. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\22\story_22-10-2008_pg7_41. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
47. ^ Ishfaq-ul-Hassan (2008-02-22). [www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-pakistan-to-explore-oil-jointly_1152227 "India, Pakistan to explore oil jointly"]. Daily News and Analysis. www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-pakistan-to-explore-oil-jointly_1152227. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

KASHMIR LIT e JOURNAL http://kashmirlit.org/default.aspx Article on Kashmir http://www.imow.org/community/directory/user/index?id=19180 scroll down for kashmir project) http://hrc.berkeley.edu/past_fellows.html Article on World Pulse http://www.worldpulse.com/magazine/articles/my-life-my-kashmir

Further reading

• Blank, Jonah. "Kashmir–Fundamentalism Takes Root," Foreign Affairs, 78,6 (November/December 1999): 36-42.
• Drew, Federic. 1877. "The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations; 1st edition: Edward Stanford, London. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
• Evans, Alexander. Why Peace Won't Come to Kashmir, Current History (Vol 100, No 645) April 2001 p. 170-175.
• Hussain, Ijaz. 1998. "Kashmir Dispute: An International Law Perspective", National Institute of Pakistan Studies.
• Irfani, Suroosh, ed "Fifty Years of the Kashmir Dispute": Based on the proceedings of the International Seminar held at Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir August 24–25, 1997: University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, AJK, 1997.
• Joshi, Manoj Lost Rebellion: Kashmir in the Nineties (Penguin, New Delhi, 1999).
• Khan, L. Ali The Kashmir Dispute: A Plan for Regional Cooperation 31 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 31, p. 495 (1994).
• Knight, E. F. 1893. Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.
• Köchler, Hans. The Kashmir Problem between Law and Realpolitik. Reflections on a Negotiated Settlement. Keynote speech delivered at the "Global Discourse on Kashmir 2008." European Parliament, Brussels, 1 April 2008.
• Lamb, Hertingfordbury, UK: Roxford Books,1994, "Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy.
• Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara... from 1819 to 1825, Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971.
• Neve, Arthur. (Date unknown). The Tourist's Guide to Kashmir, Ladakh, Skardo &c. 18th Edition. Civil and Military Gazette, Ltd., Lahore. (The date of this edition is unknown - but the 16th edition was published in 1938).
• Schofield, Victoria. 1996. Kashmir in the Crossfire. London: I B Tauris.
• Stein, M. Aurel. 1900. Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī–A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr, 2 vols. London, A. Constable & Co. Ltd. 1900. Reprint, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.
• Younghusband, Francis and Molyneux, Edward 1917. Kashmir. A. & C. Black, London.
• Norelli-Bachelet, Patrizia. "Kashmir and the Convergence of Time, Space and Destiny", 2004; ISBN 0-945747-00-4. First published as a four-part series, March 2002 - April 2003, in 'Prakash', a review of the Jagat Guru Bhagavaan Gopinath Ji Charitable Foundation. [1]
• Muhammad Ayub. An Army; Ita Role & Rule (A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil 1947-1999) Rosedog Books, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA 2005. ISBN 0-8059-9594-3.

External links

• Instrument of Accession
• United Nations Military Observers Group in Kashmir
• Official website of the Jammu and Kashmir Government (Indian-administered Kashmir)
• Official website of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government (Pakistan-administered Kashmir)
• Letter of Baroness Nicholson which refers to the 1909 map of Kashmir
• Excerpts of telegram dated 26 October 1947 from Jawaharlal Nehru to the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee

Coordinates: 34°30′N 76°00′E / 34.5°N 76°E / 34.5; 76

[show] v • d • e Jammu and Kashmir topics History History of Kashmir · Kashyapa · Dynasties of ancient Kashmir · Kambojas · Lalitaditya Muktapida · Didda · Islamic invasions of India · Zain-ul-Abidin · Sayyid Dynasty · Durrani Empire · Dogra Empire · Sikh Empire · Mughal dynasty · British East India Company · Gulab Singh · Zorawar Singh · Jamwal · Indian rebellion of 1857 · British Raj · Indian independence movement · Kashmir Committee · Partition of India · Hari Singh · Kashmir conflict · Indo-Pakistani wars · Violence in Kashmir Government and politics Jammu & Kashmir National Conference · Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party · Instrument of Accession · Article 370 · All Parties Hurriyat Conference · 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord · Simla Agreement · Sheikh Abdullah · Karan Singh · Omar Abdullah · Syed Ali Shah Geelani · Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Culture and places Kashmiriyat  · Music · Cuisine · Wazwan · Kanger · Shikara · Pashmina · Basohli Paintings · Hinduism · Kaśmir Śaivism · Sikhism · Islam Alchi · Bardan · Basgo · Chemrey · Diskit · Hanle · Hemis · Hundur · Korzok · Karsha · Lamayuru · Likir · Lingshed · Mashro · Matho · Mulbekh · Namgyal Tsemo · Phugtal · Phyang · Rangdum · Rizong · Sani · Sankar · Saspul · Shey Monastery · Spituk · Stakna · Stok · Stongdey · Takthok · Thikse · Tonde · Wanla  · Zangla · Zongkul · Vaishno Devi · Amarnath · Gulmarg · Pahalgam · Zanskar · Forts · National parks · Lakes Districts Anantnag · Bandipora · Baramulla · Badgam · Doda · Ganderbal · Jammu · Kargil · Kathua · Kishtwar · Kulgam · Kupwara · Leh · Poonch · Pulwama · Rajouri · Ramban · Reasi · Samba · Shopian · Srinagar · Udhampur Main cities and towns Anantnag · Baramulla · Doda · Jammu · Kargil · Kathua · Kupwara · Ladakh · Poonch · Pulwama · Rajauri · Srinagar · Udhampur Regions Jammu · Kashmir · Ladakh Other topics Kashmir Railway · Mughal Road · Leh-Manali Highway · Karakoram Highway · Line of Control · Tourism · United Nations in Kashmir

[show] v • d • e Territorial disputes in East, South, and Southeast Asia
Type	Territory	Currently Administered by	Claimants
Land:	Aksai Chin
	Baekdu Mountain		2 2
	Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky (Eastern part)2		2
	Indo-Bangladesh enclaves3
	Kachin State		2 1
	Kashmir3		2
	Kayin State		1
	Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands3
	Mainland China		1
	North Borneo (Sabah)2
	Outer Mongolia		2
	Pamir Mountains3		2
	Patani		1
	Shan State		1
	Sixty-Four Villages East of the River2		2
	South Tibet (now Arunachal Pradesh of India)		2
	Tannu Uriankhai (now Tuva Republic of Russia)2		2
	Tibet (TAR) and other Tibetan autonomous areas of PRC / Greater Tibet (excluding South Tibet)		2 1
	Trans-Karakoram Tract		2
	Wa State		1
Islands and Waters:	Diaoyutai / Senkaku Islands
	Kinmen
	Kori Creek2
	Liancourt Rocks		2
	Macclesfield Bank
	Matsu
	Paracel Islands
	Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge
	Pratas Islands
	Scarborough Shoal
	Socotra Rock		2 2
	Southern Kuril Islands
	Spratly Islands3
	Taiwan and Penghu2
Notes:	1Government in exile/exiled group. 2Inactive dispute. 3Divided among multiple claimants.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir"

Categories: History of Jammu and Kashmir | Disputed territories in Asia | States and territories established in 1947 | Kashmir | Geography of India