Hartal, freedom and future

So ,to begin with, after 20 years some saner minds have started to realize of how “Hurriyat” is bringing death to Kashmir

Strike & Violence is used by separatists to Talibanise Kashmir

Hartal*, freedom and future - Manzoor Anjum

By closing down all the schools, the leaders are pushing our next generation into an abyss of

Whatever is happening in Kashmir these days, people may have different explanations and descriptions for the same but fact of the matter is that whatever it is, it is intense. The fires that have engulfed the entire valley spread gradually. Life after life was lost and the fires of anger and pain continued intensifying.

If all the developments of the three weeks are looked at in a sequential manner, the results are shocking and surprising.

It seems there has been a pattern in whatever happened. To bring the situation to the boil, every killing took place at appropriate time; every protest was staged at appropriate time; every atrocity was committed at appropriate time and every demonstration was held at an appropriate time.

And this could have not happened without a proper planning. But how is it possible that two warring sides will have a joint strategy and planning. Then why this pattern, a question that may long for answers for times to come.

Fifteen precious lives were lost in two week’s time. Who is responsible – armed forces; government; those who instigated people or; peoples’ own anger and emotions? There are no answers and intention too is not to look for answers at this juncture. Important is to see what is happening next.

From three weeks life all over the Valley is paralysed. Sometimes it is the government curfew that cripples life, sometimes the civil curfew announced by separatists and imposed by stone pelters; Government relaxes curfew, stone pelters are again on the roads, protests are staged and thus again imposition of curfew and the deterioration continues unabated.

Both the factions of Hurriyat are eager to see the situation on boil. Both factions are in a race to take credit for protests and demonstrations. On the other hand, some angry youth are threatening leadership that if they call off strike, they (youth) would hoist Congress flag at Jama Masjid, Srinagar. Cowed down by such warnings, the leadership is trying to make it a ‘do or die’ situation. Dukhtran-e-Milat chief Asiya Andrabi threatens parents against sending their children to schools. Massrat Alam of Hurriyat (G) also tells people not to talk about education of children but to think of the children who have made sacrifices.

One wonders how could a nation, whose leaders are so averse to knowledge and education, dream of freedom. Knowledge is the power that makes humans distinguish between freedom and slavery – good and evil. Uneducated, illiterate and knowledge-less people can’t have any appreciation for freedom. They live in the abyss of ignorance where ideals like freedom, dignity and honour have no relevance.

And here are the leaders who deliberately and intentionally want to push our young generation into the abyss of ignorance and then have cheek to talk about freedom. If these leaders are barring Kashmiri children from seeking knowledge for some noble religious cause, let somebody tell them that it is the knowledge only that helps humans to recognize and accept Allah.

It is unfortunate that the leadership is listening to the voices which are too emotional, vocal and angry but fail to hear the voices of sanity and logic, which are in majority but not as vocal and loud as those of groups of emotional people.

Logic and reason fail to understand that how the unending strikes, that harm none but Kashmiris alone, would force India out of Kashmir. How long will the leadership go forcing the people to observe strikes and how long could people survive remaining confined to four walls of their homes.

Those who threaten to hoist Congress party flag on Jama Masjid (if the strike call is taken back) need to be told that it will make no difference which flag they hoist where. One can’t get freedom by hoisting flags of one colour and neither can one defeat the aspirations of people by hoisting flags of some other colour. What percentage of youth is on roads enforcing hartal and civil curfew? And are those who don’t join them not for resolution of Kashmir? No, they too are for it but the only difference is that the majority of the youth understand and appreciate that they can’t get freedom by pelting stones. They have to acquire knowledge and education so that they know what freedom means and then strive for that the way civilized people are supposed to do.

A few days back when curfew was relaxed in Srinagar areas, people thronged markets. Life seemed back on tracks with shops open and traffic plying on the roads. Suddenly groups of youth emerged on the scene. Stoned vehicles and shops and enforced strike. Does that mean whatever is happening is happening under pressure and people are not with the movement? No, that too is not true.

People have made huge sacrifices for resolution of Kashmir issue and therefore they can never be against the movement. But fact of the matter is that people are able to think more rationally and logically than the leadership. They understand that if the situation continues to be what it is today, the movement will die once for all. They know that freedom is not round the corner which could be reached out at by observing strikes for a few days. And also, the strikes can’t continue for months and years together. People know that to sustain freedom struggle it is a must that our children go to school and the situation remains normal. It is only in a normal situation that a nation evolves in a positive direction.

Unfortunately we have a crop of leadership here for whom their own relevance is more important than the broader struggle. To show that they matter and they are heard, this crop of leadership is hell bent upon breaking the back of the entire nation by imposing unabated restrictions. And interestingly this crop of leadership is helped in furthering their agenda by the government forces who too are obsessed with imposing restrictions.

On July 15, while on one hand the stone pelters were stoning vehicles in Srinagar to impose civil curfew, armed forces did the same to enforce their brand of restrictions. Armed forces are not allowing ailing people to reach hospitals and same is done by stone pelting youth. Neither government is having any sympathy for ordinary people and any respect for human rights nor these angry youth. Caught in a Catch-22 situation, the common people have become prisoners of the situation. They (people) have lost all hope in the government; in separatist leadership and also in these youth whom they, at one stage, viewed as messiahs.

The rich of the society have already send their children outside Kashmir for pursuance of education and those who hadn’t earlier are doing the same now. But the people who can’t afford to do so (and majority is of such people) are seeing themselves caught between devil and deep sea. The bleak future of their children stares right in their faces and they are watching helplessly.

When I was writing this column, Hurriyat (G) had issued a fresh calendar asking people to resume normal life on Saturday (July 17) but just till 2 p.m. For rest of the days, again programme of strikes, agitation, sit-in and protests has been given and coming Sunday has been exempted from strikes and protests and people have been asked to do shopping on that day.

It seems that those who have issued this calendar are in possession of some hidden treasure. They will protest for six days; not work and therefore not earn anything and still come out on the seventh day and do shopping. To do shopping, one needs money and to earn money, one needs to work. A worker does work for at least eight hours a day and then earns around two hundred bucks and in that money he can’t even buy sufficient vegetables for his family. Those who issue calendars seem unmindful of the armies of widows and orphans who have to struggle to earn a square-meal. And when they are forced to remain indoors for six days, wherefrom they will get money to shop on the seventh day?

I have no hesitation in saying that more than freedom it is every individual life that is important. We can have struggles, movements and revolutions only when we are alive but Hurriyat calendar seems taking the entire nation towards death. This calendar is a humiliation to the entire Kashmiri nation. This calendar can’t get freedom but just destruction.

The author is Editor of Daily Uqab and the article has been translated from Urdu.  Source : DailyKashmirImages

*Hartal : Mass protest often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law as a form of civil disobedience.

**More & more Kashmiris are rising against the forced strikes by Hurriyat and other separatists.

Confession of a mastermind behind stone pelting in Kashmir

THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT

My name is Shabir Ahmed Wani S/o Ali Aziz Wani r/o of Narbal.

This Hurriyat takes out these processions through these small children and give them money which results in stone pelting. In this context I called Wasim Allahpuri on Wednesday whose actual names is Ghulam mohammed dar and is the district president of Tehrek-e-Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. I told him that there is a procession going on here and where he was. He complimented me and said that in this at least 10 to 15 people should get martyred so that the pot (demonstration) keeps boiling..as in the disruptions continue. This is basically tehrek-e-Hurriyat which gives money and brainwash also some of the kids as they want that the situation should not improve at all in this place.

Question : Who is this Ghulam Mohammed Dar?
He is the district president of Tehrek-e-Hurriyat and before this he was a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen and was known as Wasim Allahpuri.

Is he the man who incites mobs ?

Yes he is the person who is responsible for taking out processions through small children which results in stone pelting and subsequent tears gas shelling from the other side resulting in killing of innocents

Mr Geelani, were you served biriyani for the day?

Mr Geelani, were you served biriyani for the day? -Dr Sanjay Parva

Geelani & Biryani

More than a decade-and-a-half back I was on a photographic assignment to Fatepur Shekhawati, a town in Sikar district of Rajasthan, known for its exquisite havelis and frescos. It was a beautiful, wintry but sunny Friday afternoon at the bus adda in Jaipur. When the bus didn’t leave at its stipulated Rajasthan Roadways timing, I went to the driver to ask why he was delaying the departure. “I am sorry for the delay, bhaisahab,” he said politely and pointing towards a remote corner on the platform, he added, “Some countrymen are offering their Friday namaz.” As I turned around, I found some 8 to 10 Muslims offering namaz in a seamless queue and in perfect synchrony. It was a sight to behold, and to be honest I loved it. For a Muslim in India, and that too in a state like Rajasthan, where Advani et al had left no stone unturned spewing venom against Muslims some years before that on Babri issue, it was azadi at its best.

Since it was only a few years before this incident that I had become a so-called Kashmiri migrant (some Indian dhoti-clad, paan-spitting politicians still call us refugees, not knowing the difference between the two; but that is another story, not debatable here), my instant reaction to this incident was that the bus driver is a Muslim. I could not hold my inquisitiveness and asked him if he was himself a Muslim. Pat came the reply, “I am a Hindu.” Needless to say, I had asked a ridiculous question.

More than a decade-and-a-half later, and some 3 weeks back, as I was taking pictures around old Amirakadal in Srinagar, I found this little boy of around 8-9 years jumping into almost every other frame till he caught me perfectly into one that I intended to have this gloomy-looking but typically-smiling man (a trait wed to Kashmiris – both Pandits and Muslims – despite pain and parch) in thirties selling fresh currency notes in exchange for the old, torn-out currency.

The boy was impressive and innocent, likable to the core, and rather than dissuading him from doing his lovable mischief, I tried to strike a chord with him. Reluctant and shy in the beginning, he walked a step towards me later. “You look pretty smart in the picture,” I complimented. He smiled and came one more step closer, his cheeks growing pink. “Do you want to see how you look?” I asked. “Aa hawkhe haz,” he asked as if doubtful. As I handed over the camera to him for a live view, his doubts shrank and trust grew more. Looking at himself he smiled and tried to frolic away; but before he would, I asked him if he was studying. He gave a vertical nod first and soon effaced it with a horizontal one; seemed to be in no mood to take another question on the topic and freed himself from my grasp and went out of sight.

Long after the incident, the boy was lingering on my mind and I wondered what his hybrid nod meant. Did he mean he was enrolled in a school but because of frequent hartals and official/ unofficial closures he was infrequent to attend; or did he mean school, as it used to be, was nomore a basic right of children in the Valley? I cannot and must not presume answers for this dilemma; because I leave that to Syed Ali Shah Geelani and men and women of his ilk who are so blinded by their personal aspirations and interests that for young boys as these they feel it is wise to let them march from post to pillar instead of encouraging them to go to school. For innocent boys as these – sadly some of whom fell prey to bullets recently – this certainly is not azadi of any sensible kind.

However, for people like Syed Ali Shah Geelani this must be azadi of the very true and ‘kind’ kind. Diagnosed with renal cancer he knows no other country (not to speak of a bankrupt nation as Pakistan) could have been as sumptuous on him as India by providing him free sarkari biriyani and free medical treatment throughout his detentions and doing everything to defy God’s will and keep him up and running against the nation itself. Azadi, for him, is his best weapon to incite vulnerable parents of the Valley to deprive their children of the previous gift of education, exploit youth to pick stones, take out procession and alas, destroy their own futures by what can never be a fulltime, honorable profession; so much so that youth of the Valley have found a good pastime in sanghbazi until CRPF retaliates.

For Syed Ali Shah Geelani azadi, as a Urdu word, would be more sweeter than Kashmiri phirni, since it is this word that helps him blackmail India and extract money from Pakistan to prevent his own fortunes from plummeting. There are reports that Hurriyat chairman has received a whooping 80 crore rupees ever since the “struggle for self-determination” began. Hurriyat is once believed to have remarked that the money was “collected” for “relief and rehabilitation” of “militancy-affected people of the Valley”. Relief and rehabilitation? One may ask where and what did they rehabilitate so far. And can one expect relief and rehabilitation from a party that incites hapless Kashmir’s to come out in to streets, pick stones with an intention to kill or get killed in the process. All this looks preposterous; it may be a human being on one or another side of the fence; at the end of it all, it is someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s husband and someone’s loved one that departs.

It has become an irony in Kashmir that when a sanghbaz gets killed, people who initiate him into the most medieval act actually convey his dear ones a message that he was worth just Rs 50 to 150 a day. Well-meaning, thoughtful people of the Valley realize this; some even want to speak out since they believe it is time to be in peace rather than turmoil, but they can’t since either they fear elimination or don’t have a platform to do so. History is also testimony to the fact that evil spreads fast; trampling goodness on its way.

Goodness in the Valley has been strangulated; but fortunately still prevails. People at the grassroots, irrespective of being rich or poor, still beat with a warm heart; they welcome you, they hug you and they respect you as a fellow human being, a fellow Kashmiri from whom they had departed 20 years ago. Matchless hospitality, as against azadi, runs through these people’s veins. Such people – during my personal and innumerable interactions with them – have come as a ray of hope who might keep the impeccable Kashmiriyat alive.

The general perception that I gather is that people of this understanding are well-informed about all aspects of the Valley as it stands ruined post-terrorism now and as it was beautifully flourishing before murderers started getting glorified post-1990s. That must bring Kashmiri awam to Yasin Malik, whom money accumulated from terrorism landed him from a congested Maisuma Bazar house to a plush new bungalow in Maisuma, not to speak of commercial buildings, hotels, and investments in real estate not only in Kashmir but in United Kingdom also. Renunciation of violence, as he has done, after accumulating so much of fortune is a natural and safe recourse from the movement that took lakhs of lives in what he had promised as “separation of Jammu & Kashmir from secular India as an Islamic Nation”. Ironically the guy who can barely speak sense, whenever he opens his mouth, says now he is looking for “peaceful methods to come to a settlement on the Kashmir conflict.” Sadly no one questions his integrity that he had shown earlier, no one dares him ask his accountability for the personal fortunes he has built over the dead. Average, hapless Kashmiri has been and still is at the receiving end; his mind practically a hostage to a misled thought emerging from a perverted mind. The trend is fatal, and if it continues parents would wish in future if only they could have reverse the past for their children’s good.

Bytheway, it is Friday again, and across the length and breadth of the country devout Muslims would be offering juma namaz peacefully (and surely in complete azadi) in thousands of mosques. In the Valley, however, menacing concertina wires have been put up to prevent any human movement. A friend calls me up and says he has run out of milk and vegetables for lunch; and in the same breath (almost as a salute to his Kashmiriyat) he asks me if I needed anything? I tell him I can live on just oxygen-rich air nonstop for at least 76 hours; but am seriously worried about Geelani whether or not he was served in time his regular biriyani for the day ….

Ever seen a HARTAL calendar ? In Kashmir they have one

Produced below is a “Hartal” Calendar issued by Hurriyat , a Islamic fundamentalist organisation claiming to represent people of Kashmir.

These are the people who do not wish normalcy to return to Kashmir .  The calendar is worth laughing.

No Secularism , Only Islam in Kashmir : Hurriyat Leader Announces

The so called “liberals” and “Marxists” continue to live in denial , while as time and again it has been very evident that “Kashmiriat” as is is projected is an eye wash.

Two decades after 7 million Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave by islamic fanatics , the issue remains the same. No tolerance of any other religion in Kashmir other than Islam.

On 17th March , for the sake of eye wash and deception, Syed Ali Shah Geelani , leader of Hurriyat appeals to Kashmiri Pandits to return back to the valley . Though unannounced this time is the obvious rider 1. Dont expect to get justice 2. Follow our fight against Indian Govt . 3 Live like minority at ‘our’ mercy.

The statement also quotes Geelani saying :

“No solution under the Indian constitution will be acceptable to Kashmiris.”

Immediately , almost the next day , Syed Ali Shah Geelani issues a statement in a public meeting which exposes the dual standard of Kashmiri leadership and how the agenda is pan -Islamic.

Addressing a public meeting in Anantnag , Geelani says :

“Not secularism but only Islam brings peace and justice to people and nation. But some of our leaders on one hand claim to be champions of Azadi and Islam but on the other hand believe in secularism.”

It must be noted that AnantNag witnessed anti Hindu riots in 1986 , in which hundred of Hindu houses were looted and temples destroyed. AnantNag is also strong hold of PDP , Party of Mehbooba Mufti .

Having rejected secularism , Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in another statement demands reduction of time period for AmarNath Yatra.  AmarNath , not only is one of the Shakti peeth , but a place of prime importance to billions of Hindus across the globe.

Addressing a Fridaycongregation , Hurriyat leader demanded that Amarnath yatra should be reduced to 15 days as against 2 months.

The statement has generated anger among the Hindus . Brigadier  Suchet Singh [ retd ] , issues a statement which says

Geelani is trying to vitiate the atmosphere ahead of the yatra. The dates for the two-month pilgrimage have been fixed and there is no reason for reducing the duration. Geelani should focus on Haj rather than interfering in the religious affairs of Hindus,”

“The government should stop Geelani from making provocative statements,” Brigadier Singh said.”

Also , in another expose , The Govt while as have not provided to educated Kashmiri Pandit youth , despite many public announcement and promises , the very same Govt has gone ahead and announced Govt Job to those muslim youth who have been arrested for stone pelting.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also confirmed that such a policy was in the offing when he told the state assembly late Wednesday that stone pelters were “our boys” and they would be rehabilitated.

CHEATERS

Here i share with you three interesting photographs of the so called leaders of Kashmir who have cheated with the people.

These leaders have ,for their monetary benefit  been directly or indirectly been responsible for thousands of deaths in Kashmir and have been responsible for making 7,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits homeless and refugees in their own country.

This picture shows the passport of Syed Ali Shah Geelani , hardcore fundamentalist and leader of Hurriyat Conference. Geelani is also seen as a ‘hawk’ in the peace process.

While as Geelani provokes everybody in Kashmir to shun India and anything related to India , he does not mind getting himself treated in best of Indian hospitals of Mumbai & Delhi.

And yes , he had sworn by the country’s constitution and still carries an Indian Passport , while as he continues to play his dirty politics which results in more violence in Kashmir.He claims that he would convert Kashmir into an islamic state, while as he enjoys the benefit of his ‘Kafir’ Government.

Indian Passport of Syed Ali Shah Geelani

The below two pictures are of the person who introduced and smuggled guns in Kashmir. The person who has cases related to terrorist activities pending , but due to being an ‘agent’ of both the governments of India & Pakistan , he is allowed to be a free man.

This man is in love with money .According to SATP In 2002 police recoved INR 4.8 millions meant for Yasin Malik . As ordinary Kashmiris continue to struggle and arrange for their livelihood , as Tourism being the main industry of Kashmir continues to fail since the start of militancy, Yasin enjoys being showered by currency , no matter which country it may belong to.

As a Kashmiri Pandit refugee said,“If the Kashmiri Muslims want to put cheaters in the Hall of Fame, that’s their stupid and suicidal prerogative,”

Why Kashmir has no case for self-determination – Vivek Gumaste

Self-determination is a lyrical, mesmerising phrase that sparks the fire in a revolutionary and excites the cerebral neurons of a libertarian, galvanising both into frenzied activity. But self-determination shorn of its prerequisites and mindless of its implications can prove to be a toxic, self-mutilating instrument with deleterious consequences for its protagonists and antagonists. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of Kashmir where it holds an uncertain future for its proponents in the Valley and can be the axiom that seriously erodes the basic fabric of India’s Constitution.

Self-determination in quest of a new nation-State cannot be a whim but must be a proposition grounded in solid reason. There must be justifiable cause to advocate separation. Do Kashmiri Muslim aspirations qualify for legitimate independence or is this brouhaha nothing more than a devious design by a majority to establish its hegemony?

The recent events in Kashmir are a microcosm of the movement itself: much ado about nothing. Acutely conscious of its waning influence and sensing a general apathy towards separatist fervour, as evidenced by the successful conduct of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Hurriyat is in a tizzy, resorting to obfuscatory tactics to remain relevant. How else can you explain its tendency to impart an anti-Indian hue to each and every untoward incident that occurs in the Valley?

Courtesy - AP

The immediate trigger for the latest spate of protests in Srinagar  appears to be the alleged murder of Asrar Mushtaq Dar, a 20-year-old student who went missing on July 3 and whose mutilated body was found in a city graveyard on July 8. Details of the murder are still sketchy and the identity of the culprits is yet to be ascertained. But that really doesn’t matter.

“Asrar was later found to be murdered by his friends . The cause was a love traingle ..Ref : Indian Express “

For in the charged and biased atmosphere of the Valley, any unnatural death becomes a cause celebre to whip up anti-India sentiments and implicate the security forces, ethics being an expendable appendage in the process.

Prior to this was the Shopian incident in which two young women, Neelofar Jan and her sister-in-law Asiya Jan, were found raped and murdered on May 30. While a judicial inquiry called for an ‘in-depth investigation’ and stated that ‘there is material on file to hold that the involvement of some agency of the J&K police cannot be completely ruled out’, it went on to give details of a possible family angle to the twin murders as the following news excerpt with verbatim quotes from the commission’s report indicates (Shopian panel even suspects victim. Majid Jahangir. Kashmir Live, July 11):

The police isn’t the only target. The report calls for a probe into the “rift” between the family of Neelofar and her in-laws. The fact that Neelofar, a woman from the upper-caste Peer family, eloped with Shakeel Ahmad Ahangar — who belongs to a family of blacksmiths — is also cited as a subject for further probe.

The report calls for a detailed investigation into the possible role of Neelofar’s estranged brother, Zeerak Shah, a police constable. “It is required that sustained questioning/interrogation of Zeerak Shah, his associates and relatives, be carried out so as to work out the possibility of their involvement in rape and murder of Neelofar and Asiya Jan”.

The commission also puts a question mark on the conduct of Shakeel Ahmad Ahangar, Neelofar’s husband and Asiya’s brother. Claiming that he is ‘known for his immoral activities’, the report says: ‘His assets are quite disproportionate to his known source of income, thus requiring in-depth investigation to work out the possibility of Shakeel and his friends/associates in the present incident’.

Then the report goes on to even suspect the victims themselves. ‘Spot inspection of the orchard reveals that the orchard is fenced with CGI sheets from three sides and there is no proper gate for entry into the orchard. There are about 35 small and big fruit trees, without any pruning/cutting and ground is full of weeds. The purpose of their regular and frequent visit to the orchard could not be established so far… It is quite possible that during these frequent visits to the orchard in last six/seven months, they (but more particularly Neelofar Jan) might have developed some relation with other persons.’

Hurriyat Leaders – Hiring Contract killers to silence rivals in Kashmir !

 

Alam asks the Hizb ul-Mujahideen chief to “take action” against Butt, who he identifies as “tambakoowala.” or “the tobacconist,” in a sardonic reference to his heavy smoking. In the evident belief that Alam is advocating Butt’s assassination, Shah replies that such an action would discredit the Hizb ul-Mujahideen. Alam then clarified that he wanted the Hizb ul-Mujahideen chief to ask Butt’s backers in Pakistan to exert pressure on him…..

 

…………………Later in the conversation, Alam claims that three members of the pro-dialogue faction —Mirwaiz Farooq, Sajjad Lone and Malik — met with National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan during his August 19 visit to Srinagar. He also asserts that Lone flew to New Delhi with the NSA……………………..

Let them go to Pakistan ; Good for Indians

“We are all one and insha Allah (God willing) there would be complete unity among all pro-freedom groups on all issues. Stand of all the pro-freedom groups is that Kashmir is disputed and India should fulfill its promise of giving the right to self-determination to the people of J&K,” – Syed Ali Shah Jeelani Of Hurriyat Conference

In a joint statement of all separatist groups in Kashmir , it was said that Hurriyat along with the traders would march towards Muzaffarabad , which is occupied by Pakistan.

While as it exposes yet again the desire of Islamic fundamentalism and anti India movement in Kashmir ,the Govt of India continues to pamper these people instead of acting tough.Last 60 years of pampering has turned large number of Kashmiri muslim a spoilt brat with no tolerance towards any other religion.

I would suggest that Govt. Of India makes all out arrangement to facilitate the Hurriyat march towards Pakistan occupied Muzaffarabad and also ensure that these leaders leave for that place along with their people ,bag and baggages …once for all.