Islamic Fanaticism—Not Economic Backwardness

Islamic Fanaticism—Not Economic Backwardness
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

It's almost a month since Jammu began, what seems to be, an insuppressible agitation against the Governor and the pro-partisan and Muslim-appeasing politicians on their refusal to re-allot the land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for providing facilities to Hindu pilgrims visiting Amaranth. The depth of resentment is evident looking at an incident which occurred on July 22, when Kuldeep Raj Dogra, in his mid-30s, while participating in a hunger strike at Jammu's Parade ground, consumed poison, stood up, read a passionate, self-written patriotic poem, faltered, and then… fell dead. Since then the situation has gone haywire, well beyond the control of the administration. But what made the people of Jammu, mostly peace-loving, to turn so aggressive? Is there a logical explanation for this?

Owing to our aimless and weak policies, Kashmiri youth have, with open support from Pakistan, taken up the sword for Islamic Jihad. The programme of Islamisation in Kashmir, which has been on for the past several years, is being given final shape - now. The mass exodus of Kashmiri Pundits has left the Valley devoid of Hindus. Conspiracies for removing all the Indian symbols in Kashmir are being hatched. Temples have been destroyed. The ancient names of towns and roads have been changed and Muslim names have been given to them. 'Assalam valekun' has replaced 'namaskar' on Srinagar Doordarshan. Watches follow Pakistani time zones. People take pride in burning the Constitution of India and the Indian flag. Sanskrit words are being deleted from the Kashmiri language and are, instead, being replaced by Arabic words. The first phase of total independence for Kashmir was to oust Hindus from the Valley. Success has been achieved in this respect. The second phase was to destabilize and paralyze the state administration in which also success has been realized. Now guerrilla attacks on the Army are being embarked on to accomplish the third phase.

The 'intellectuals' deserve pity, for they evade reality by putting on the mask of so called 'secularism', when they term the grave situation in Kashmir a result of 'economic backwardness and political suffocation'. If only they stop playing in their make-believe world and start searching for realism, will the real face of the problem become crystal clear. There is neither poverty nor political discrimination in Kashmir. The entire trouble is the product of religious fanaticism.

The reality is that after independence, our rulers, in the intoxication of appeasement, gave more political and economic facilities to Kashmir than to any other state in the country. Not only this, they made available all facilities and amenities to the Kashmir valley at the cost of the rights of the people of the two other regions of the state—Jammu and Ladakh. Under the umbrella of Article 370, whatever maximum political and economic facilities were made available to Kashmir strengthened and deepened religious fundamentalism of Kashmiri youths.

Ignoring the population ratio, the assembly seats in the Valley are more than what it is in Jammu region. There is a majority of Kashmiris in the Government services and hitherto, only a Kashmiri Muslim has been the Chief Minister of the State. The representation of ministers from the Valley is greater than others, in the council of ministers. Despite the fact that Kashmir has been considered the centre of political activities, the talk of political suffocation being the root cause of the current problem is, as Narendra Sehgal puts in his book 'Converted Kashmir', 'bankruptcy of wisdom'.

As far as the area is concerned, Kashmir Valley is one-eighth the total area of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. But a major share of the State's revenue and Central Assistance is being spent on Kashmir. Ninety-five per cent of the budget of the Tourism Department is spent on Kashmir. The headquarters of all the 11 State Corporations are in Srinagar. Between 33 and 35 per cent of senior Government officers and secretaries, are from Kashmir. It is so because the population of Muslims is more in Kashmir. The height of discrimination became evident when veterinary hospital and college, dental care centre, and artificial limb centre, which were allotted for Jammu, were set up in Kashmir even before the current SASB land row.

All major industries including cement factory, HMT watch factory, telephone industrial unit, television unit, Government process, textiles industry, and the like are being developed in Kashmir. Medical college, engineering college, agricultural university, and other educational institutions are in Kashmir.

A major portion of the state budget is being spent on Kashmir. Of 2,876 villages in Kashmir 2,086 have been connected with main roads. More than 70 per cent seats in Srinagar Medical College are given to Muslim students.

As a result of liberal financial assistance from the center and on account of petro-dollars from the Arab world, people of Kashmir have become prosperous and richer than people in the rest of India. Even the Government figures reveal that the per capita income in Kashmir is among the highest in the country.

Yet who can convince our so-called, 'intellectuals' and politicians, that in comparison to Kashmir there is major economic backwardness in Jammu and Ladakh regions. As far as political rights are concerned, these two regions live in suffocation. Had political injustice and economic backwardness been the cause for terrorism, Jammu and Ladakh regions should have witnessed it much before it took roots in Kashmir.

Those who in their mental exercise try to trace the genesis of the problem to economic backwardness should stop such exercises when then Governor, Jagmohan's suggestion for absorbing Kashmiri youths in a separate battalion of BSF and for appointing 5,000 educated youths as Government teachers was turned down on the plea that "we do not want it, we want an independent Islamic republic." Experience has made it clear that the more money Government of India spends in Kashmir, the more religious fanaticism and exploitation thrives.
A former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Junejo, has told the National Assembly, while speaking on the Kashmir issue, that the riches of Kashmiri Muslims would be helpful for Pakistan. This fact now stands established that the pace of Islamisation increased because of wealth in Kashmir. It is because of riches that a mosque on the pattern of Mecca was built in Srinagar.

Fundamentalists from outside the state have been posted to top posts in Government institutions. In place of Sanskritised Kashmiri language, Persianised Urdu has been made the official language. Money has played an important role in destroying fully the old links with India and the result is that nobody talks about renowned Kashyap Rishi, Avantivarman, Lalitaditya, and Kalhana. Mohammed Iqbal of Pakistan is considered a great philosopher there.

India is now considered a foreign nation in Kashmir! The Indian Army has to listen to insulting slogans like 'Indian dogs, go back.' The suspected leaders like Mufti Syed and Dr. Farooq, and his son Omar, Abdullah keep on shedding crocodile tears over the 'dreadful situation in Kashmir' when in the initial stages they too had favored Islamisation and even today support the demand for separate political existence of the Valley.

What people in Jammu are stating through their protests is 'enough is enough; this ought to stop. We shall not tolerate anymore. We shall fight with our lives, for Kashmir is also ours.' The current surge of the protests is no less than a Hindu Intifada. And I wonder if all this would stop without availing justice.

For those who want to blame Hindus in Jammu for the unrest let me assert that there is not an iota of truth in it. The basis of the Kashmir problem is neither economic backwardness nor political suffocation of Muslims in the Valley. Its roots are in the froth of religious fanaticism which is being nourished both by India, through Muslim appeasement, and Pakistan, by harboring terrorists. This has to stop.

The Boiling J & K amidst blame game!

The Boiling J & K amidst blame game!
By Seema Mustafa

There is urgent need now to restore not just law and order but communal harmony. This has to be done on a war footing, for it is already too late and one cannot say with any sense of certainty whether peace ---even if it is arrived at ---will be long lasting or short lived.

Jammu and Kashmir is boiling. And the Nero's of New Delhi are fiddling. They are holding all party meetings where every one sits around a table, gives vent to his or her views, and returns home without a single solution in sight. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil does not have even a half baked proposal to offer, and after the last round met the media to suggest that the Kashmiris could take their goods to Pakistan occupied Kashmir if Pakistan agrees.

There was no reaction from any of the worthies attending the all party meetings to this complete abdication of authority. It was as if the Kashmiri protestors were just out for a picnic, and the Indian Home Minister had decided that they could extend their trek to Muzaffarabad if they so desired. Of course, that many of them were being killed in the firing at about the same time was another story altogether, and one not referred to by Shivraj Patil.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been let down by the leadership of the state and the center. Earlier and again today. Not a single leader has risen above the separatist and communal politics to strike a real note of peace and harmony. All have sat back and fed into their little constituencies, even as they accuse the 'other' of fanning the flames. The issue is no longer of land, it is of alienation, of anger and resentment. In the process the fanatics and the fundamentalists have taken hold of politics in the state, with the mainstream politicians totally sidelined. The center, of course, has little to offer except the spiritual guru who has been sent as an emissary in what is perhaps a sad first in New Delhi-Srinagar relations.

Every one is now blaming the other, whereas actually all are at complete fault. Former Governor Lt General S.K.Sinha who is briefing the BJP these days, was wrong in moving a file without making a correct assessment of the consequences. And for doing so in a clandestine manner, on his last day in office. The Kashmir reaction was fuelled by created perceptions, with the people responding to rumours that their land had been permanently given away. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was wrong in allowing this to happen, and then for not stepping in with the vigour and determination needed to prevent the rumour from taking over the fact. New Governor N.N.Vohra was wrong in revoking the decision, again without a word of explanation.

The BJP was wrong in fanning the communal flames in Jammu and through the Amanarth Shrine Samiti actually organizing an economic blockade of the Valley. This was perhaps the worst move of all, and evoked memories of the ghastly and inhuman blockade of Gaza by Israel. The state government disappeared from the scene. The Hurriyat fanned the secessionist flames, with arch rivals Mriwaiz Omar Farooq and Syed Geelani making common cause in the Valley. Instead of acting with responsibility the Mirwaiz urged the people to march to Muzaffarabad, and quite forgot to inform them that the blockade was over by the time they actually faced the bullets.
The PDP joined the separatists and when asked about this its leader Mehbooba Mufti had little to offer by way of explanation. Her father and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was neither seen nor heard during the crisis. Former chief minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was abroad and returned hitting out at all and sundry. His son Omar, has barely been able to keep his inexperienced head above the boiling waters. The Congress is in the doghouse, the BJP is making hay, as the separatists and the communalists who had been totally marginalized, find themselves blessed with an astounding revival.

But as always, it is the government that emerges as the worst offender. For while the communalists and the secessionists have a declared agenda that works against the country, it is the government that is expected by the people to provide and protect. The state government has opted out of the crisis. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made mention of Jammu and Kashmir from the ramparts of the Red Fort, and while everyone shares the sentiment that peace must be restored the question reverberating around the nation is: How? This is what the government is required to answer, but the silence from Delhi's corridors of power is deafening, to say the least. The government appears to have no solution in sight, and clearly unless there is immediate intervention to cement ties the state is going to see even worse days in the immediate future.

What could have been done? The former Governor and the chief Minister should not have allowed to act arbitrarily but should have ensured that the decision to allocate the land was done with full consultations and in a completely transparent manner. Once taken, the decision should not have been revoked without discussions and consultations. The economic blockade of Srinagar should not have been allowed by the state and central governments for even a minute, and the army should have been moved in immediately to end this. The crisis could have been converted into an opportunity even at this stage, with the army being cast in the role of peace maker and provider of medicines and essential supplies, instead of the killing machine. But the government, very deliberately, let go of this opportunity and sat back leaving it to the people of both parts of the state to battle it out.

The all party meeting in Delhi should have been held much earlier, almost immediately, in Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister should have flown down and convened discussions with the representatives of all sides. If the army had busted the blockade, and the government had started the dialogue, those who continued to fan the fires would have again been isolated. At least to some extent. Instead, in the face of complete inaction, they have all become the heroes and are reveling in the spotlights.

There is urgent need now to restore not just law and order but communal harmony. This has to be done on a war footing, for it is already too late and one cannot say with any sense of certainty whether peace ---even if it is arrived at ---will be long lasting or short lived. Some one has to speak the voice of reason and cold logic, and it is time that the center takes control. Otherwise the voices advocating the religious trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir will be strengthened both in and outside the country. The dangers inherent in this demand are visible to all secular and responsible sections of society.

Constitutionally Recognized Separatism

Constitutionally Recognized Separatism
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

Is accession of Jammu & Kashmir complete like other states? If the accession is complete then why is this special appeasement? Is it so because there is Muslim majority? Had there been a Hindu majority in the Kashmir valley, would there have been this clause of the Constitution?

During the time of India's partition, in the year 1947, all the states of the subcontinent were given the rights, under the Indian Independence Act, to accede either to India or Pakistan. Displaying his grand statesmanship the then Indian Union Home Minister, Sardar Patel, succeeded in merging 565 princely states with the Indian Union. As a result of obstinacy and rigidity of Hyderabad and Junagarh, Sardar Patel merged them by employing military means.

But the issue of Jammu & Kashmir was retained by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. His national outlook and his capacity to take decision were eclipsed by his affection for Sheikh Abdullah and his animosity with Maharaja Hari Singh and his ingrained Kashmiriyat. This personal ego, of Nehru, is the reason because of which India is loosing, though unconsciously, the state of Kashmir, today.
Jenab Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was the Prime Minister, and not the Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The state was governed by its own constitution and not by the Constitution of India. The National Conference flag was the state flag and NOT the tricolour. The Indians needed a 'permit' for visiting Jammu and Kashmir. There were several other such separatist concessions and customs which Nehru offered, as his gift, in connection with the delight on Sheikh becoming the 'sultan of the state'. And yet, Sheikh was not pleased.

There was one special reason behind this dissatisfaction of Sheikh Abdullah despite having the blessings from the Prime Minister of India, support of the UN Security Council and Pakistan. He had 'fears' that Hindus of India may come and settle in the state. He had fears that Kashmiri Muslims may be swept by the national mainstream. He had fears that Kashmir may be recognized on the basis of its ancient culture, Kashmir may be amalgamated like other states in India, after Nehru. Such fear would spoil his sleep.

Thus, in order to realize his dream of total independence for Kashmir, it was necessary to keep Jammu and Kashmir away from India permanently. He needed an instrument through which he could protect the seed; he himself had sown, of separatism in Kashmir. He again took Nehru for a ride and brought him under the clutches of his schemes. By incorporating Article 370 in the Constitution of India, Nehru offered him that instrument.

Article 370 of the Constitution gave constitutional validity to Abdullah's separatist ideas and international intrigues and gave a special position to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Its stamp 'confirmed', to many, the fact that 'Muslim majority cannot remain with India.'

This Article 370 of the Constitution, which has grouped Jammu & Kashmir as a special and different state, actually ridicules this declaration that Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. This special status delinks the state from rest of the country. It won't be an exaggeration if it is called 'constitutionally recognized separatism'.

Is accession of Jammu & Kashmir complete like other states? If the accession is complete then why is this special appeasement? Is it so because there is Muslim majority? Had there been a Hindu majority in the Kashmir valley, would there have been this clause of the Constitution?

It's a fact that Maharaja Hari Singh signed the accession papers on October 26, 1947 under which the state acceded to India. The accession of J&K with India was carried out on the same patter as other states acceded to it. But as a result of the misfortune of the country, Nehru pressurized the Maharaja for handing over power to Sheikh Abdullah. The Maharaja gulped with bitter draught and exhibited his patriotism. The misfortune does not end here. On the request of Sheikh Abdullah it was decided that the State Assembly will take the final decision on the accession and it was done to appease the Muslim society in Kashmir. From here the State was given the special status. The question arose as to what should be done till the Assembly took the final decision? For this period Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution as a 'temporary measure'. But even when the State Assembly ratified the state's accession to India, the Article was not scrapped. Could there be another bigger instance of treachery than the interest of the vote bank and the politics of appeasement than this? I truly wonder.

With the blindfold of political interest we lent permanency to the temporary character of the Article making our position not only ridiculous before the world but also provided a golden opportunity and solid base for separatist-oriented terrorism to grow in Kashmir. The most shameful part is that we are not ready even now to throw off the soiled blindfold. Instead, it seems as if, we are keen to keep this blindfold as a permanent failure.

It is because of this Article that the Government of India cannot enforce any law connected with Jammu and Kashmir without the approval or concurrence of the State Government. Only defence, external affairs and communications fall in the Central's list. The Parliament has the powers to frame laws for rest of the states in the country. But Article 370 of the Constitution restricts the hands of the Union Government and the Parliament in doing this in case of Jammu and Kashmir. Its dangerous consequence has been witnessed in the past decades, when the law prohibiting misuse of religious places could not be extended to Jammu and Kashmir, with the result the state does not come within the ambit of secularism. And even after the independence the ignoble thing happened in Kashmir when hundreds of temples were destroyed and where people belonging to a particular community were victimised and subjected to cruelties. On the question of Ayodhya and the consequent Babri Masjid episode the Union Home Ministry had been issuing threats to the Uttar Pradesh Government and ultimately the Government was dismissed under the Article 356 of the constitution but this article cannot be implemented directly in Jammu and Kashmir.

There is only one system of citizenship for the people of India but in case of J&K, its dual citizenship, one of the state and the other of India. The citizens of J&K are citizens of India but the citizens of the rest of India cannot be citizens of J&K. If a girl belonging to J&K marries a boy from outside the state, who is not a state subject, she looses all her rights in the state. Even wealth tax cannot be imposed in the state. The Urban Land Act, 1976, which is in force in the entire country is not applicable to J&K. The result of this is that rich landlords, belonging to the majority community in the Valley, indulge in economic exploitation of the poor and the Indian citizens, who are non-state subjects and living in the valley, cannot even secure loans from the financial institutions.

It is quiet evident that Article 370 has not integrated J&K with India but it has delinked it. There in Kashmir is no place for secularism and nationalism in the mind of youth. The feelings of regionalism, communalism and separatism have developed in their mind. Instead of coming closer to the national mainstream, they have distanced themselves from it and have now started raking up the question of independence.

The ongoing row over the land transfer to Amarnath Shrine Board, too, is just a small consequence of this historical blunder, of including article 370 in the Indian Constitution. I am unable to understand why is it that Hindus cannot be allowed to have lands allotted for their religious purposes in Kashmir, when Muslims can have thousands of mosques anywhere in this country?

Kishore Kumar's surge past Mohd. Rafi

Kishore Kumar's surge past Mohd. Rafi
By Susenjit Guha

A singer’s relevance and mass appeal long after he is dead and gone can be judged from the song track of commercials that break in between prime time soaps and serials.

Be it hair oil or fun munch companies, they still bank on a line or two from Kishore Kumar’s hit songs sung thirty or forty years ago to hook customers.

Had he been alive today, he would have been 79.

Did he have some magic in his voice which other great singers of his era lacked? Was he --- as believed by many of his fans---a freak genius?

Or, was he just in tune with the changing preferences of a new generation of movie goers?

Bombay films or Bollywood as it is known now, like Hollywood, always amplify and echo popular sentiments. Music was always synonymous with the story line and in sync with the principal characters. The present should not be confused with the past when musicians gave singers a much needed breather, not vice versa.

While conservative India gave stardom to Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in the fifties, the closeted rebels itching to brace up found their hero in Dev Anand.

While most Raj Kapoor productions stuck to nasal Mukesh, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand rode the crest with the melodious Mohd.Rafi.

Rafi had few parallels during his time.

In the late fifties and sixties when Errol Flynn look-alike Shammi Kapoor became India’s very own on screen Elvis Prestley commanding the highest signing amount as hero, Rafi’s songs made his films memorable. Nasir Hussain’s ‘Dil Deke Dekho’ made Shammi Kapoor a star because he could match his lip movements best with some of Rafi’s greatest fast paced numbers and was blessed with an excellent beat sense.

But during Mohd.Rafi’s heydays when Majrooh Sultanpuri and Hasrat Jaipuri penned the lyrics to the music of all time greats like O P Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan, Dev Anand experimented with little known Kishore Kumar in his Navketan home productions. Another well known music director, S D Burman, another Dev Anand favourite, spotted raw talent in Kishore Kumar.

He was also a complete raw artiste who could sing, play comic roles and dance ahead of his time.
His songs went down well with the closeted rebels who finally swelled the tribes of Hindi film buffs and fans.

But it was some years after the numbers in ‘Guide’, ‘Gambler’ and ‘Padosan’ endeared a new set of fans to a fresh voice in tune with the late sixties, the single Kishore Kumar ‘Zindagi ek safar’ song sung onscreen by an unknown Rajesh Khanna in a guest appearance in the film ‘Andaz’, sent Shammi Kapoor into hibernation.

Mohd. Rafi, the voice behind Shammi Kapoor’s success sadly slipped to the second slot in playback singing soon after. It was said Shammi Kapoor’s fans, put off by his bulging mid-riff, left the cinema halls soon after the song.

And soon after, Shakti Samanta with ‘Aradhana’---the director, who like Nasir Hussain could feel the pulse of the audience---made a superstar of Rajesh Khanna and pushed Kishore Kumar up to the first slot which he occupied till his death in 1987.

They knew the right mix for a super hit movie.

Shakti Samanta repeated the scene from his 1960 Dev Anand-Waheeda Rahman starrer, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai where the chart buster, Rafi’s Jiya o Jiya o Kuchh Bol Do was sung with the hero hanging out of the toy train and the heroine traveling alongside in a Dodge up the winding road to Darjeeling.

He kept the scene and location, but changed the position of the actors in ‘Aradhana’. Perhaps he thought 1969 demanded a makeover. Rajesh Khanna belted out the Kishore Kumar all time favourite ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ from a jeep with Sharmila Tagore inside the toy train.

Mohd. Rafi was the ultimate in melody while Kishore Kumar was sonorous to the hilt.

The swinging 60’s emboldened the rebels in India who defined audience tastes for the next two decades. And they were not averse to yodelling in public.

Songs with a classical bent were passé as screen plays got bolder with heroes and heroines more relaxed enacting song sequences.

There was more action in movies. More heroes vied for attention as more money flowed into the film industry.

Kishore Kumar could adapt and put in the required punches in his songs to suit everyone. Producers, directors and financers found in him a recipe for return on their investments even if the lead artistes were little known.