Living in despair, Kashmir half widows hopes still alive

Guest Post By: Yasir Ashraf

Today Javaid would have been celebrating his 37th birthday, if ‘security’ forces had not picked up him 21 years ago. On August 18, 1990 Javaid was taken away for never to return.

During the first years of militancy in Kashmir sixteen year old Javaid Ahmad Ahangar, class 11thcommerce student, was staying at his uncle’s house for the night when he was picked up by the ‘security’ forces and bundled into a vehicle. Till now his whereabouts are unknown.

Parveena Ahangar along with prominent human rights activists founded an organization in 1994(split into two organizations in 2006) Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons to know the whereabouts of their dear ones. Parveena told Agence India Press that, her son was taken mistakenly. “The security forces had come to arrest Javaid Ahmad Bhat, a JKLF militant in neighborhood, but instead picked up my son Javaid Ahmad Ahangar,” remembers Ahangar.

Every month she organizes a sit in protest with others like her whose dear ones are missing. Ahangar says that we are one family: “They are my family, their sufferings are mine, and we fight for same cause. The search of our dear ones,” says Ahangar.

Mothers, sisters, and wives of the disappeared have organized under the association of parents of disappeared persons (APDP) towards bringing justice.

Today they are protesting against the enforced disappearances of their relatives, and one among them is Naseema Bano. Naseema is sitting silently on a road here with a candle in her right hand and wearing black pheran (a long cloak to cover body) to mark the International human rights (December 10) day as black day. She is a ‘half widow’.

Women whose husbands have been subjected to enforced ‘disappearances’ but not yet been declared deceased are often called ‘half widows’.

By conservative estimates there are 1,500 widows in Kashmir.

Indian forces have been accused of human rights abuses against civilians since 1989. By conservative estimates, 22 years of strife have left more than 70,000 dead and more than 8,000 disappeared.

Such disappearances have been carried out by government forces—police, paramilitary, or military—or by militants. However, the number of the disappeared carried out by militants is significantly lower than government forces.

The British Raj, which once controlled Kashmir, a Muslim majority princely Kingdom ruled by a Hindu monarch Maharaja Hari Singh. End of British rule in sub-continent or independence in 1947 split this sub-continent into two sovereign states of India and Pakistan. The two nations have paid with strife and bloodshed to establish their conflicting claims over the disputed region.

Kashmir has signified a major source of tension between India and Pakistan since their birth, 1947, and has seen armed conflict since 1989.

Currently, 4000,000 to 750,000 (the exact number remains unknown and disputed) Indian military and paramilitary remain in Kashmir, making this one of the world’s most militarized regions. The Indian government has passed security legislation—such as the Disturbed Areas Act, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, and the Public Safety Act—giving military and police forces special powers to suppress insurgency and maintain a fortified presence in the region.

Naseema’s husband, a painter, left for work on 21 July, 2000, never to return. She lives in a rented one-room apartment with no curtains and scraps of calendar and news papers over the walls and the ceiling, as if hiding their poverty. She lives with her brother-in-law, her mother-in-law, and her 11- year-old daughter Shazia. Naseema, herself about 27-years-old, is effectively the breadwinner of the family.

She was married to Anwar Shah in 1998; she belongs to south Kashmir’s Islamabad district. They were living happily after their marriage, but their happy life lasted only for two years. Anwar went missing as if he never existed. He vanished as thousands of others like him vanished in Kashmir and get the term ‘disappeared’. She has no clue about what happened to her husband.

Anwar’s disappearance was the beginning of the family’s sufferings. Mushtaq and his Mother, Haseena Bano, who went looking for their loved one, are sent from one military base to another, one jail to another, each suggesting some clue at the next.

They went from pillar to post in order to register a missing report, but the police officials refused to file any report.

Mushtaq along with his mother appeared in the year 2006 to the district magistrate Srinagar with an application for filing a missing report. Again the applicant has filed an application to the District magistrate 16-06-2007. Finally, it was 11 February, 2008 an FIR was lodged in the police post Bona Mohallah, Fateh Kadal on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar. The irony of the officials and the judiciary did not stop here, the orders were wrong instead the officials filed a wrong date of the missing, as the orders were given by the CJM himself to lodge a missing report in 2002. But Anwar went missing in 2000.A question mark on the judiciary and casts a shadow over its verdicts so far.

The family felt relieved to get a copy of FIR but the irony of the justice is that they ordered a wrong date of the missing report. “We get copy of an FIR, so we thought it will be alright. As an uneducated how could we see such details? And our lawyer also did not speak about it,” laments Mushtaq.

The family has received no compensation for the disappearance. Naseema’s brother-in-law and mother-in-law made several trips to the District Commissioner’s office, all unsuccessful bear no fruits.

The family has a copy of a confidential report by the Special Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) report from October 2009 that states:

"...as per reports the subject has not come to averse notice prior to his missing."

That is, the CID affirmed that Naseema’s husband was not part of the militancy and is thus not believed, even by the CID, to have potentially left with a militant group or gone to Pakistan.

Naseema no longer hears from her natal family. While her parents are long deceased, her siblings refuse to help her unless she re-marries.

Only a small fraction of half widows choose to remarry. Many half widows do not contemplate re-marriage, believing they will eventually receive some information about their husbands. Even more give up the option of remarriage on account of their children; there is a deeply held fear that a stepfather will never accept his wife’s children or give them his best. And for those who want to remarry, social stigmas around remarriage remain strong, while religious interpretations of the rules around remarriage remain contested, says a report titled Half widow, Half wife? Compiled by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).

A well known Kashmiri Sociologist, Prof Bashir Ahmad Dabla, carried out a survey in which he says that one of the tragic consequences armed conflict has been experienced in terms of emergence of huge widows and orphans, 16,000 widows in 2000, their estimated number has increased to 32,400 with 97,000 orphans in 2008.

The research says, having the provision for re-marriage in Islam, only 8.66 percent had remarried. "Rest doesn’t want remarry because they wanted to devote themselves for the development of children of the dead husband."

"89 percent had not married till date and had no intention to marry again because children emerged as the crucial problem,” adds study.

The social taboos around remarriage are cultural rather than religious. Islam encourages widow remarriage.

In Islamic law, Shariah, there is no consensus around the marriage of women who are half widows, because there is no special provision for the phenomenon of enforced disappearances. All major schools of Islamic thought provide different guidance about re-marriage.

However, the concept of ‘Ijtehad’ provides for scholars to extrapolate an opinion regarding any topical issue that has no instance in Islamic jurisprudence, if done in accordance with the context and urgency of the issue and without violating basic Shariah. Thus, though the Hanafi School has declared that a woman has to wait 90 years after her husband’s disappearance but, Maliki School says that a woman either wait four or seven years, and if husband remains missing, without information about his whereabouts even after proper investigation the marriage is deemed to have been dissolved.

“If I get married, my daughter’s life will be ruined. If it was a son, it would still be fine, but she is a girl, what will she do without me?”asks Naseema.

The absence of husbands renders women economically vulnerable. In already socioeconomically weak families, this is the status of most families that have suffered disappearances, such vulnerability leads to destitution.

Generally, the husband is the sole breadwinner in the family and his disappearance results in an abrupt paucity of income.

Naseema works in neighborhood homes, cooking and cleaning and doing domestic chores as required. The money fluctuates and everything she makes is spent on food for the four family members, her daughter’s school supplies, and medicines for her mother-in-law. Her brother-in-law, Mushtaq Ahmed, has a disability since birth and walks with difficulty. He cannot earn for the family.

They believe she is squandering her energy taking care of an ailing old mother-in-law, a brother-in-law with debilitating disability, and a young girl. Mushtaq says that if this family have nothing to eat in the house, but they will never beg.

The half widow is mostly not equipped, educationally or socially, to begin earning for her family. As a result she, as well as any children she has, become dependent on others, most often the husband’s family (given the cultural context where parents live in a joint family with their sons and daughters-in-law, not with their married daughters). In the in-laws’ family, relationships often sour after the disappearance.

“I have no mother, no father, and my husband is lost. Where shall I go leaving all of them?”Says Naseema.

In their desperation, many half widows visit pirs, fakirs, darweshs (‘holy men’), make offerings at Sufi shrines, and some even patronize fortune tellers.

“I have also visited Shrines and pirs to get a clue about him, maybe someday he will be back to his home,” says Naseema.

Amidst this socioeconomic insecurity, women battle their emotional traumas while struggling as single mothers, many of whose children also often show manifestations of trauma.

The various socio-economic pressures together have psychological effects on half widows that largely go unaddressed.

Most half widows report anxiety (often described in terms of “speeding up” or palpitations), sleep disorders, and lack of interest in everyday activities. Many half widows exhibit Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); anxiety attacks may be triggered by memories of the disappearance or the disappeared.

The Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital in Srinagar continues to receive 200 patients a day in its Out Patients’ Department. However, doctors there report not seeing half widows or other family members of the disappeared come in for treatment very often; the families continue to harbor hope without recognizing that retaining such hope has taken its toll on their own mental well-being. Half widows are known to self-medicate, consuming easily available antidepressants, resulting in further health issues. In a vicious cycle, the worsening mental and physical health has adverse effects on their economic situation, which further worsens their social standing and vulnerability, entrenches their isolation and suffering, further compromising.

Valley’s well known psychiatrist Mushtaq Margoob told Agence India Press that most of the half widows have insecurity and uncertainty. “They are always in a state of turbulence, because they are over burned with responsibilities of their children,” says Margoob.“Their whole world changes, their entire life, suffering a perpetual trauma and having extreme psychological agony. Which many times magnified, after months or years, because of their loneliness. They have also hope at the same time. They think Creator’s powers are not limited, it would create a miracle and finally their husband will come back,” elaborates Margoob.

“He always come in my dreams and says he will be back soon,” says Naseema with a hope in her words.

“Agar hai su aeshaa yem maslie ma gasheen” (if he, Anwar, would have been here, there would have been no problems), says Mushtaq in a broken voice.

“I am living on a hope that he will knock at the door and declare I am back,” says Naseema finally.

Nuptial Knot Of Sisters Awaits Brother’s Release

Combining the strength to collectively hold the position of their brother in the family, the sisters of a Kashmiri youth still wait for their brother to return and get them married. The dreams seem to be shattered due to their brother’s detention.

Last year on December 31, Mehraj-ud-din Shergujree of Hajin Bandipora was arrested in Bhopal. “He was falsely implicated there. He had gone to Bhopal for an orientation as he had a lot of interest in learning religion. Unfortunately he became the victim of cruelty there and was made a prisoner”, says his sister, Shaista Qadir.

Mehraj has nine sisters and seven of them are unmarried. The sisters say they are waiting for their Zuu to come. “We have never thought of happiness without Baijan. In fact, happiness went away the day he was taken away from our eyes”, says Shaista.

Writing his final year examinations, Mehraj is presently detained at Srinagar’s Central Jail. Away from home, his sister says, Mehraj is living life of a caged bird. “He would walk freely in his home; would go to college and handle our father’s shop very well”, says Shaista.

The family says Mehraj was once brought to local police station Hajin but detained again, later. “They once brought him here and told us he will soon be released. We were anticipating his homecoming but our dreams shattered when they detained him again,” says his father, Ghulam Qadir.

Even a local court, according to Ghulam Qadir, had granted bail to Mehraj but never to be released. “They played with our sentiments. At the time when I need my son very much, he is languishing in jail”, he says.

Mehraj-ud-din is the only son of Ghulam Qadir Sheergujree. He used to run the shop besides going to college. “He worked very hard. On one hand he was studying and on the other hand, like an awlaad-e-saleha (faithful son) helped our father in maintaining the shop”, says Shaista.

After passing 2nd year exams Mehraj had started his own shop selling Kiryana items. “He worked hard in his shop after he would come from college. Besides he helped me in early hours of morning in collecting milk”, his father says.

The family is waiting for their son to come home and bring them happiness. His shop is running in loss. They wait for him to come, shoulder the burden of the family, and get his sisters married. Two of his engaged sisters will not marry until he comes.

Mehraj’s 10-year-old niece says her Mamu will bring her lots of toys. “Mamu gaya hai hajas, woh bohat saare khiloonay layenge wahan se (Mamu has gone to Hajj, he will bring me lots of toys),” she says.

Qaid-e-Inquilaab Dares Omar ‘Let Us Be Free To Fight Politically’

A day after chief minister Omar Abdullah challenged separatists to “fight politically” mainstream parties, the chairman Hurriyat conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, today challenged him to let the separatist leaders be free and allow their political activities to see who is favoured in the society.

Omar Abdullah yesterday lashed out at separatists, accusing them of indulging in “hooliganism, highhandedness and muscle power”. He challenged them to “fight politically”. “If you want to fight, you should fight politically and not by means of hooliganism, highhandedness and muscle power,” he told the separatists, adding that “lies cannot live long and people cannot be hoodwinked by slogans and fear.” In his strong worded response, Geelani said the CM was ruling the state with army’s help and that without the latter’s support his government “will lose its address within a day.”

“We challenge Omar Abdullah to come out of the security cover and then fight us politically. We challenge him that the Azadi slogans will echo from every inch of Kashmir,” he said in a press statement issued here. “Let Omar Abdullah give up the security cover and also withdraw the restrictions on our political activities, the whole world will see who is favored here. The world will see what people of Kashmir want,” he challenged.

Omar, Geelani challenged, should allow the separatists to hold a rally at Lal Chowk to know the reality. “We will hold a rally at Lal Chowk and let the government not restrict it, the reality will be revealed to everyone. The rally will be a referendum,” he said. The veteran separatist also accused the ruling national conference and other mainstream parties of “hooliganism.”

“Was not killing of around 150 civilians hooliganism? Is not arresting of innocent youths hooliganism? Is not restricting the activities of separatists not hooliganism?” he questioned.

He, however, said Tariq Ahmad was killed due to personal differences, not for strike. “He was killed by some goons with malicious track record. Hartal was made just an excuse. The incident should not be linked to the pro freedom movement,” he said.

The shackles of slavery will break

By Abdul Aala Fazili

My dear brothers, sisters. Assalaamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu, Allah is the most merciful and Allah is the All Knowing. At the outset I would like to congratulate all of us for our steadfastness and sacrifices which Alhamdulillah are bearing fruits now. There is no need to be in anxiety and despair about the success of our freedom struggle. I have this total and farthest belief; we will finally achieve freedom – Insha’Allah.

Success, my dear friends is not an event, it is a process – it is a path, which we need to tread on so that we reach our destination – freedom. Alhamdulillah, the unflinching resistance of our young protesters and nation as a whole has set the movement into an irreversible motion on the path of success.

The resistance in last three years has been the most important phase so far in our freedom struggle. We may not have succeeded in chasing India out yet, but certainly we have succeeded in shaking their hold over Kashmir and creating ripples within their establishments – we have succeeded in tearing their mask of non-violence and democracy – we have exposed their demonic criminal conduct before their conscientious people – they stand demoralized – their confidence is shaken – their rhetoric of arrogance is changing – their claim of integral part has no takers anymore.

The mass uprisings in the recent pat have pushed the discourse out of ambiguities and made our political discourse clear and direct. It has dispelled the Indian propaganda unleashed primarily to confuse the public opinion within and outside Jammu and Kashmir.

The awareness has heightened and mobilization/participation has touched majority of the people of Jammu and Kashmir irrespective of age, gender and region. Voices of resistance remain now loud and clear in the remotest parts of Jammu & Kashmir. An informed commitment has transferred to the younger generation and they feel confident in continuing the struggle more creatively, courageously and effectively towards liberation. This generation has also been victim of and witness to the struggle and sufferings that this nation has been enduring for the cause of liberation and justice.

The resonance of our resistance has reached the global power corridors so emphatically that it has become impossible for anyone to ignore our struggle and sufferings.

The shackles of slavery will break – Insha’Allah, but for that my dear friends, lets us pledge that we will not forget the sacrifices our dear ones who have been taken away from us by the violence of Indian state during last sixty-three-years. We have to refrain from the disease of forgetfulness. We have to refrain from being inconsistent. We have to refrain from being indifferent and callous.

Let us share the pain of those families who lost their loved ones in last three years, rather with all those one lakh families whose members have been killed during the freedom struggle. The most important contribution for the movement would be taking care of these families who need our moral, financial and political support.

Let us build the memorial walls, in which the names of our martyrs are inscribed. Let us institutionalize their memories in our daily lives. These memorials will become an instrument of our strength, solidarity, remembrance, and motivation for future.

India has been tyrant to us, but by forgetting their crimes we will become an accomplice. We remember the killings of two and a half lakh Muslims of Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi in 1947. We remember the killings of fifteen hundred people in 1953. We remember the killings and incarcerations of thousands of people, especially those of Poonch and Rajouri from 1965 to 1989. We remember killings of more than 1 lakh people since 1989 till 2010. We remember the molestations and rapes committed on thousands of our daughters. We remember those ten thousand people who have been subjected to enforced disappearance. We remember the bones and bodies of our men discovered in thousands of unmarked and mass graves. We remember the arrests and detentions of thousands of Kashmiri people. We remember the worst forms of tortures and humiliations being inflicted on us by Indian troopers. We remember and we shall never forget all this.

India may have succeeded in killing of our people – in arresting and torturing our people – in destroying our properties – in brutalizing our society, but they will never succeed in the death of our dreams – the dream of free Kashmir – the dream of justice – the dream of living a dignified and prosperous life – the dream of living a life without fear. Our resistance will ensure our existence, which is under threat from Indian control.

On the occasion of Eid ul Azha, let us all pledge in the name of the blood of our martyrs and tears of mothers and sisters:

- that we shall always remember their sacrifices,

- that we shall never stop our struggle for freedom, truth and justice,

- that we shall never allow India to divide us.

In last sixty-three-years India has invested into terrorizing, corrupting, co-opting, and exhausting our people. Also internationally India has tried to malign our movement by categorizing it as terrorism. All their investments seem to be going waste, Alhamdulillah. This is the direct outcome of our valiant struggle, resilience and sacrifices. We have given befitting responses to Indian political machinations and tyranny. This is a source of contentment and let us feel encouraged to carry on the march for freedom with hope. Time to celebrate will follow – Insha’Allah.

ALLAH, BLESS KASHMIR

Abdul Aala Fazili is a scholar at University of Kashmir.

Appoint Desmond Tutu A UN Arbiter To Resolve Kashmir, Says American Council

A landmark idea has been floated in Washington and New York to tackle one of the oldest items on the UNSC agenda

An elite group of Kashmiri Americans has proposed to UN secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon to appoint rights activist Bishop Desmond Tutu as head of a UN effort to stabilize Kashmir, where 2,700 unmarked graves were discovered last month.

Warning that Indian occupation soldiers are responsible for a “semi-genocidal campaign” in the disputed territory, the Kashmiri American Council [KAC] used the occasion of the raising of Libya’s new flag at the UN to paint a dark picture behind India’s media blackout on Kashmir.

KAC’s statement is linked to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s remarks during The Otto L. Walter annual lecture at the New York Law School. In the lecture, Mr. Ki-Moon appeared to be reviving a key function of the UN: to support the will of the people.

KAC is an American group lobbying for peace by resolving one of the oldest international disputes on the agenda of UN Security Council. India first involved the UN in the dispute and its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, pledged on 2 November 1948 to allow Kashmiris the right to decide their future but later reneged and forcibly annexed the region.

Mr. Ki-Moon said that support for the Libyan people has revived UN’s mission of standing by the people when their government cannot or will not protect them.

Kashmiris in the Indian-controlled territory and the large Kashmiri Diaspora worldwide “look to the Secretary General of the United Nations as the custodian of the moral responsibility of the United Nations,” KAC said in a statement.

Copies of KAC’s statement were received at powerful offices in the US capital, including the White House, the Department of State and the Capitol building.

The KAC board also referred to petitions submitted earlier to the office of the UN Secretary General:

“The people of Kashmir have tried to address to you various petitions and communications regarding the situation in Kashmir. The information establishes that a massive campaign of brutal oppression that was launched by India in 1990 continues unabated. Various estimates are given of the death toll of civilians so for. Making due allowance for unintended exaggerations, the figure runs into tens of thousands. Countless individuals have been maimed and countless women molested and assaulted. United States, Department of State’s country report on human rights says that 8,000 to 10,000 people have involuntarily disappeared.”

The group’s principals made sure to remind Washington and the international diplomatic presence at the UN of the unmarked graves in Kashmir, which is a scandal for India because the country is already home to 21^st century’s first and biggest genocide so far, where 2,000 Indians were butchered over three days in 2002 for being non-Hindus.

“The Board quoted Amnesty International which in its report on September 26, 2011, said that over 2700 unmarked graves have been identified by an 11-member police investigation team of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in four districts of north Kashmir. The state government must ensure that all past and current allegations of enforced disappearances are promptly, thoroughly, independently and impartially investigated and that, where there is sufficient evidence, anyone suspected of responsibility for such crimes is prosecuted in proceedings which meet international fair trial standards.”

In a proposal that could help nudge Kashmir on the UN Security Council’s agenda, KAC offered key suggestions:

“The Board warned that India has succeeded in erecting a smokescreen by claiming that the Kashmir issue is to be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan without the intervention of a third party. That wishful thinking has never allowed a meaningful dialogue for a durable and equitable settlement of Kashmir dispute. The human urgency of the situation in Kashmir demands that tripartite negotiations between Governments of India and Kashmir & the genuine leadership of the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir be initiated under the leadership of the United Nations. The U.N. can appoint a person of an international standing, like Bishop Desmond Tutu to be the facilitator in this regard.”

Kashmiri-American sources in Washington DC tell PakNationalists.com that Kashmiri-Americans are already in contact with US lawmakers and diplomats from several countries, including Turkey, Belgium, Russia, China and Pakistan, in addition to senior UN officials, to push the idea of Mr. Tutu leading a UN-sponsored arbitration of the Kashmir dispute.

US officials and experts working to improve the chances of peace between Pakistan and India find the idea worth considering.

Rethinking Kashmir

Guest Post By: Farhana Qazi

Defined by tourist cliches and brilliantly crafted one-liners, the disputed territory of Kashmir is a backpacker’s haven and “paradise on earth.” And while charmingly seductive, the idyllic landscape is beset by a sense-of-siege and is home to millions eager for change and consistency. Nearly two-decades of conflict and on-and-off talks between nuclear arch-rivals India and Pakistan have had few meaningful results. Deeply disappointed by Indian and Pakistani political ploys, people on both sides of the mountain passionately push for peace, either through active participation in much-talked-about-protests or political party meetings that are all-inclusive. Outside of government, residents of the conflict, many of whom are bewitched by deaths and disappearances of friends and foes, undertake risks to release information and record present grievances. Without the people of Kashmir, high-level talks will fail to alter the status-quo of aggressive policies, artificial politics, and animated street protests. The latest issue to haunt the valley is the discovery of mass graves and cyclical human rights abuses-neither issue is new to the residents of Kashmir, but a common narrative they have become achingly accustomed to. In Buried Evidence, a multiauthored publication by The International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir, the death toll between 1989 and 2009 is listed as well over 8,000-these include enforced or involuntary disappearances and an additional 70,000 or more were found dead. The authors contend that a history of “violence and violation” of human rights abuses result in anguish and anxiety among the population. In the summer of 2008, the international community offered a limited response to the mass graves discovery. For example, the European Parliament passed a resolution to denounce disappearances, detentions and deaths since the outbreak of conflict, calling for an impartial and independent investigation-similar to requests being made by international human rights organizations this year. Three years later, the same story repeats itself. This summer, Amnesty International and India’s Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission released reports with terrifying statistics of the dead and disappeared-a report that Indian authorities have repelled, despite outside pressure for transparency. The imbroglio over unmarked and unknown mass graves in Kashmir raises doubt and deepens distrust with the ruling elite. Amnesty’s report highlights a fundamental question of whether the Indian state is legitimate or lawful in its “occupation” of Kashmir-an instrumental issue that is debated. Discussion of the ongoing dispute has had a chilling effect and on the local population. The impact of unsettled policies has taken its toll on the youth. In a recent interview, a Srinagar-based doctor, who wished to be unnamed, expressed his concern that the youth of Kashmir are unable to cope in an unending and unresolved conflict. As a physician, he points to the youth’s increasing use of over-the-counter or inexpensive drugs. The doctor noted, “The trauma of war contributes to an ailing society. Most people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. To live, Kashmiris are on drugs. We are all sick. Even children take cheap medicine to fall asleep. What will happen to our youth? They have no coping mechanism.” A temporary respite from rage, drugs masquerade the desperation and depression that local residents share. Countless stories of women as told by journalists, including my own collection of mourning, discredit India and Pakistan’s attempt at negotiation. Without taking into account the narrative of violence and a vicious cycle of neglect, the South Asian leaders’ initiative to engage one another is just that-a media blunder that masks the agony and affliction local Kashmiris have harbored for nearly six decades. The Kashmiri people are determined to seek a political solution. Aware of India and Pakistan’s recent overtures to resume dialogue, local communities on both sides of the border watch for signs of prosperity. High-level meetings between the two arch-rivals may be a significant step, though historical record of previous attempts at dialogue proves that neither India nor Pakistan is willing to make critical concessions. Interviews of local residents sport a business-as-usual attitude. A young lawyer in Srinagar admitted, “All the leaders are playing with the blood of martyrs. That is injustice.” A similar distrust expressed by other Kashmiris with their party leaders highlights the failure and fiasco of local officials to take seriously a collapsing society. A Kashmiri law student in exile indicated, “Every political party is vested in itself, with no regard for the people. Until they learn to serve the people, there is nothing India and Pakistan can do to settle the dispute.” A divided Kashmir may present opportunities for India and Pakistan in the short-term, but long-term inadequate policies will encourage strategic encirclement. To move forward on Kashmir, India and Pakistan may need an Arab ally to help South Asian rivals redesign their ambitions for Kashmir to ensure a longer time-table for progress. An outside negotiator has the potential to allow New Delhi and Islamabad to stitch together a political model that involves the people of the valley. Absent an outside collaborator, India and Pakistan risk reducing Kashmir to symbolic gestures, sensationalized by the international press as disingenuous and dishonest

. — Farhana Qazi is a senior lecturer on Pakistan and Islam for the US government. She can be reached at farhana331@gmail.com

October 27 Most Tragic Day In The History Of J&K: Sayed Ali Geelani

Organize protest rallies on the day and highlight the military atrocities being carried out in Kashmir.

Calling October 27 as the most tragic and darkest day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, Chairman APHC Syed Ali Shah Geelani Thursday asked people to observe a complete shutdown on the day to show the international community that People here will never reconcile with this occupation and fight against it till the last soldier leaves this land.

He appealed to Kashmiris living In other countries to organize protest rallies on the day and highlight the military atrocities being carried out in Kashmir.

APHC chairman said that Kashmir was autonomous state till 26th October 1947 but on 27th October the Indian troops initiated the occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that this occupation has no legal moral or political validation and it is only due to military might that India is holding on to Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmiri people have struggled ever since against this occupation but despite claiming to be democratic country India has used every available power to crush the public opinion. More than one lakh people have been killed and ten thousand have been subjected to enforced disappearance. Thousands of women have been violated.

Unmarked and mass graves are being discovered all over valley. All this has happened because of the military occupation initiated on 27th October 1947.

Calling for complete demilitarization APHC chairman said that until Indian forces are on this soil life and honour of people is not safe and there will be no regard for human rights. He further added that Kashmir is a problem for peace in whole south Asia forcing to two already impoverished nations to spend major part of their budget on military instead of poverty eradication programs.

Mr. Geelani said that the biggest hurdle in the settlement of this issue is the stubborn mindset of India. Despite making tall claims of democracy India does not want a peaceful solution to this imbroglio.

Aphc chairman said that the international community has accepted our right for self determination with UN passing no less than 18 resolutions in this regard. It is high time that UN lives up to its word and plays a role in providing the right to people in Kashmir as they have done in the case of countries like south Sudan, Abkhazia, Serbia ,Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Eastern Timor in the recent past.

Mr. Geelani said that India should have a relook at its expansionist policy accepting the ground realities otherwise it will be left alone on the international front soon.

With Inputs From Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu & Kashmir

Kashmir is a separate country, another Australian Govt website

Map showing Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh out of India map on Australian Govt website.

Map: Kashmir shown as disputed in another Govt website of Australia

Brussels: The website of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of Australia has displayed the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Arunachal Pradesh separated from an India map

According to Indian media, Australia admitted that the map was an "error" and said it will be removed from the website.

"The map was an error and is being removed from the website," an Australian High Commission spokesperson in New Delhi was quoted by Indian media.

A map of India on an Australian Government website has omitted the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh triggering strong protests from the Indian community in the country.

Following the protests, Australia admitted that the map was an "error" and said it would be removed from the website.

"The map was an error and is being removed from the website," an Australian High Commission spokesperson in New Delhi said.
The Indian community in Australia had lodged strong protests with the Australian government over the incorrect map of India, posted on a government website in Australia which omitted the border states of JK and Arunachal Pradesh.

The website of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of Australia had the "incorrect" map in its website.

The Council of Indian Australians Inc (CIA), an apex body representing the Indian Australian community in New South Wales, had asked the DIAC to correct the map on its website.

"The CIA Inc wishes to bring this (incorrect map) to the attention of the Government of Australia and urges the DIAC to rectify this incorrect map and display the revised map showing correct boundaries," a CIA statement said.

'No harm in talking about state’s trifurcation’ Interview With Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (M) member Abdul Ghani Bhat tells that Kashmiris should take the initiative for restarting peace parleys.

Why do you think that trifurcation is the natural solution?

We have been seeking settlement in the larger interests of the subcontinent. India and Pakistan have gone nuclear and Kashmir can constitute a flashpoint. I know it’s also an RSS plan, but as a settlement, trifurcation can be an alternative along with the UN mediator Sir Owen Dixon’s plan or General Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula.

Isn’t it against the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) stand?

I don’t want to get into the business of for and against. I belong to Hurriyat(M) and I know what it stands for. Even the Hurriyat talks about a negotiated settlement that involves not only dialogue but seeking alternatives too. There is no harm in talking about trifurcation as an alternative.

What about the UN resolutions that Syed Ali Shah Geelani believes are the only solution?

The UN resolutions offer a legal basis to the Kashmir dispute. I’m not interested in the legality of those resolutions as much as I’m in their implementation. Sixty-three years have gone by but not a single resolution was implemented because they need the approval of both India and Pakistan, which isn’t likely in the current circumstances. I don’t have any problem if the UN implements its resolutions but the issue is what next if the resolutions aren’t implemented.

New Delhi has been saying that borders won’t be redrawn.

Even as an alternative solution, Musharraf’s four-point formula too speaks about making borders irrelevant. We belong to a global village now. We are one. We can move together and that needs to be promoted. The concept of open market economy has introduced an element of interdependence into our collective economic lives. We need to address this issue in the larger interest of our togetherness.

Hurriyat member Moulana Abbas Ansari says this alternative is ‘unconstitutional’ and you must be reprimanded by Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq the way Ansari was punished for meeting the Centre’s interlocutors separately?

(Laughs) No comments.

You have suggested that Mirwaiz Umar should offer talks to India instead of India inviting Kashmiri leadership for talks.

We are the principal party to the dispute, that’s why we need to offer the olive branch and invite both countries for talks. They may accept or reject it.

Hurriyat (M) wants India to meet four conditions before the talks take place. Do you want to do away with them?

He hasn’t said anything about conditions. These are actually CBMs. As far as I’m concerned, talks shouldn’t go with conditions. Dialogue always takes place without conditions.

India and Pakistan couldn’t reach a settlement even on the Siachen dispute. Are you still optimistic?

Miracles won’t happen in a day. Both countries need to engage each other in talks. If they fail, they need to restart and talk again.

At one point, you had supported Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan? Why trifurcation now. Has your stance shifted?

This was the position the Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference had taken during the 1990s. What needs to be understood is we need to take stock of ground realities. Otherwise, we would be in trouble. If I’m given the choices of India and Pakistan, I will choose Pakistan. But it all depends on whether a plebiscite takes place. If not, then we will have to seize the day to secure a bright future. We can’t be bogged down by the past.

(First published in Tehelka)

5th Global Discourse on Kashmir begins in European Parliament

Brussels, May 04 : The 5th Global Discourse on Kashmir (GDK 2011) started in European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday with the welcome address of James Elles, Chairman, All Party Group for Kashmir in the European Parliament.

The fifth Global Discourse Conference was jointly organised by All Party Kashmir Groups and Kashmir Centre Brussels at the European Parliament.

Politicians, parliamentarians, journalists, civil society members, diplomats and experts from across the globe including members of the European Parliament, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and South Asian delegations are participating in the two-day discourse.

James Elles, OIC’s special representative on Kashmir, Ambassador Abdullah Alim, Tijis Berman, APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Sherry Rehman, member of the parliamentary committee, participated in the inaugural session titled “Situation in Kashmir – International Appreciation.”

Jaen Lambert, Chairman, South Asian delegation, Josef Janning, Director of Studies, European Policy Center, Dr Dennis MacShane MP (UK) and Executive Director of Kashmir Centre London, Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl will discuss during a session “Situation in Kashmir – European Appreciation” later in the day.

Ivo Vagjl, MEP Committee on Foreign Affairs, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Chairman, Parliamentary Kashmir Committee, Dr Udit Raj, Indian Justice Party and Nasim Zehra, Director Current Affairs Duniya TV, will participate in a session “Situation in Kashmir- Regional Appreciation.”

The main purpose of the Global Discourse on Kashmir, since its first meeting in 2004, according to APGK Chairman, James Elles, has been to encourage the informal dialogue process between the governments of India, Pakistan and representatives of the people of Kashmir.

The struggle of Kashmiri people is legitimate and based on principles of democratic right of the people to decide their political future, said a participant, adding that the durable peace and stability in South Asia is linked to the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute

"Resolution Of Kashmir" - Declared as the Best Resolution by International Center of Religion and Diplomacy , USA

By : Mehboob Makhdoomi

"I do not find any point in starting this essay with the history of Kashmir. In my essay, only few historical instances will be brought into the lime light, where ever required.

Resolution of any problem can be ascertained by the deep understanding of the cause of the problem.kashmir imbroglio, although being a vexed issue is not complicated to understand at all. History stands witness to each and every incident. I repeat, it’s crystal clear. Then the question arises, why is it still unresolved even after 60 years? There are many answers to it. India’s adamance, few mistakes by Pakistan, and last but not the least is the confused Kashmiri leadership.

It is not wise to call Kashmir just a bilateral issue. The fate of 13.6 million people can not be decided by the two foreign countries or any organization which does not represent Kashmir’s truly. Pakistan's representation of Kashmir is always being seen at, with dubious eyes at the international platform. No country can trust Pakistan’s sayings about the condition of Kashmir. Many countries and organizations perceive India and Pakistan both as occupants and do not differentiate them, saying both of these nations have their vested interests in it.So my point is that the bottleneck of the problem is weak and bifurcated Kashmiri separatist leadership, so are the people. This has given rise to the two obstacles in between Kashmir and its freedom.


1. LOSS OF THE FREEDOM PASSION; Kashmir’s have never felt to be part of India, they always aspired for their freedom, but they were predominantly ignorant, so they needed a reliable, wise and influential torch bearer. They got few but at the end of the day all of them turned out to be cheaters. so due to the known reasons, violence broke out in the valley. It was not the war between few organizations and India. It was a civil war. It was raised by the local populace of Kashmir, it was so popular that if India would not have been able to succeed in confusing the militant outfits and the people of Kashmir and if it would have persisted 1 or 2 years further with the same zeal and passion, India had to leave the valley. India’s first success was the internal rift in Kashmiri militants, a gang war like situation prevailed, when hizbul mujahideen and Jammu Kashmir liberation front began to kill each other due to their ideological differences, leaving the war against India aside. So with this, local population was divided as both these outfits had mass public support.
This broke the back of Kashmir freedom struggle.

The second setback to the struggle was a very ugly name in the history of Kashmir, i.e. KUKA PARRAY, the very unfortunate formation of so called ikhwaan. India succeeded in indoctrinating hundred's of kashmiri youth, majority of whom were former millitants,to surrender and gave them arms, ranks, unlimited power and utilized them to curb the militancy, because, they being locals and involved in militancy before, knew each and everything about the militants, their thinking and way of operating. Although majority of these so-called ikhwanis have been killed by the militants now, but the damage done by them to the freedom struggle is irreparable. This second setback cooled everything down and this betrayal even killed the freedom passion in the local populace. There was a lack of trust. Nobody would know who is who. Even there were many families which had its members in different rival organizations. On the whole, India played a very intelligent politics in curbing Kashmir’s struggle. India could not have been successful in doing all this directly without getting locals into it.

2. INADEQUATE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT; According to united nations resolutions, Kashmir is a disputed territory whose people have to exercise their rights through a free and fair plebiscite under U.N. So this dispute was internationally recognized, but now Kashmir has lost that support to a great extent. There are again 2 reasons for it. a).immediately after the armed resistance erupted in the valley, there was a huge exodus of minority pandit community, a plan mainly engineered by the then governor general of Kashmir, Mr. Jagmohan, and many other unpopular reasons are responsible for it. This helped India to label the Kashmiri uprising purely Islamic; India was successful to frame this issue on communal lines, to a great extent. So this defamed the uprising in many parts of the world.

b). Another setback was the September 11, 2001 attack on twin towers and pentagon in the united states of America, after which America’s 'war against terror' was launched all over the world. So in this post-9/11 world, it became hard for international community to differentiate between freedom struggle and terrorism. The word 'terrorism' became so popular that anybody with a weapon, for any cause, was labeled as terrorist. According to America, their prime suspect was Sheikh Osama bin laden, for whom they attacked Afghanistan and then suspected him to be in South Waziristan, which is a Pak-Afghan border area. America found Pakistan to have huge no. of Osama sympathizers, and Pakistan somehow managed to convince America and saved itself from devastation, although it was at the brink of it. So, now it was a cake walk for India to link Kashmir issue with the international terrorism. According to India, 9/11 attack had a direct link with Kashmir and it even succeeded in highlighting this link to a great extent.So these two reasons, especially the second one destructed the Kashmir’s international support as India claimed to be the terror victim like USA.
So, till now I have sorted out the basic two problems, which if dealt with delicately, and solved, the day is not far when we can see a free Kashmir.

Now the remedies to solve the problems;


50% of the problem is solved if its cause is predicted and then understood properly so at the present moment by figuring out the causes of this problem, we have solved it partially.There are two steps to be taken to resolve the Kashmir dispute, which means to solve the above two problems. So the two steps of remedies are;

1. Revival of that freedom passion in Kashmiri people which was in them at the inception of the popular uprising.

2. succeeding to get the sincere interference of international community especially the major players like United States and United Kingdom.


The second step is spontaneous to the first one.

1. REVIAVAL OF FREEDOM PASSION IN THE PEOPLE; I strongly confront to this notion that Kashmir’s are tired of striving for freedom. It’s only because of the impaired leadership machinery. Even being without a monopolistic leader, Kashmir’s still continue to strive for their goal to a great extent. They still boycott august 15, India s Independence Day, October 27th, when Indian troops entered Kashmir, all elections under Indian constitutions and many more. Although Kashmiri leaders do proclaim a strike call on these days but the reality is that the people do it for themselves and not for the call given by these leaders. But we can not deny the fact that a sincere leader is indispensable for this goal to be accomplished. So my point over here is the need of a passionate, sincere, knowledgeable leader, who has a full public backing. Revolution has always been brought up by single persons, so we have to wait for such a person for whose tones people will dance to. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had enjoyed such a support just few decades ago but he failed at the end and ditched his own people. Now we need one more sheikh, provided he does not ditch the people. I am emphasizing the element of the public support enjoyed by him.

Mathematically, we need sheikh Abdullah - treachery.

Such a person even has the ability to mesmerize the people with his demogoguery.He can bring all the people from all shades under one roof and set a common goal for them. Kashmir’s should not abstain to such a situation saying it can lead to more violence, but they should comprehend this fact that everyday people die and nobody cares, it has become a norm of the life now. So is it not better to face it at once by facing the Indian pressure and coming out on the roads irrespective of age, sex, educational backgrounds etc etc ? Exactly the situation of 1989 is to be rejuvenated, but without the gun. gun can be detrimental to the struggle this time, it can give room to India for calling itself terror victim and earn sympathy. So the war is to be waged with power and passion, as was done before but including intelligence and unity this time. The whole world is to be shambled with such local protests. Educated youths are to be involved in this and they be given chances to enter the revolutionary machinery, so that they can go front and speak up in front of the world effectively. It is to be highlighted at the intellectual level. It should become a fashion. People should know what their actual rights are. And all this can be done by that leader who can get the masses behind him.

India has always been strategic in curbing the voice of Kashmir by enforced disappearances, rapes, plunder,custodial killings, imposition of various draconian laws like POTA (prevention of terrorist activities act),AFSPA(armed forces special powers act), artificial ghosts in early 90's to terrorize people and now their latest trend is to indoctrinate Kashmir’s new generation. This year India conducted Gandhi jayanti on a high level in Kashmir asking students to participate in it and even chief minister Ghulam nabi azad asked people to follow Gandhi's principles in this life and keep Islam for the hereafter, and recently on an eve of children's day, children were asked to recite the much debated and controversial Indian patriotic song VANDE MATARAM, which is not only against the kashmiri sentiments but even against Islamic sentiments. This is a religious interference. This is the most dangerous Indian strategy, which could be detrimental to the cause of Kashmir to a great extent, if not dealt with properly. People, especially children should be made aware of these deep conspiracies hatched by New Delhi.




2. SUCCEEDING TO GET THE SINCERE INTERFERENCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND EVEN THE UNITED NATIONS; as I said earlier, this step is spontaneous to the first one. When such a scenario comes into the being, there is no other way out for the world community to force India for solving the problem.International community never takes cognizance of any dispute unless it is not serious and a threat to the world or regional security. Kashmir dispute has already caused 3 wars between Pakistan and India and now both of these arch rivals have nuclear power, so the next war between them is a threat to the whole of South Asia and the world peace. So this threat is to be practically realized by the world. Pakistan has been pressurizing the world even on this point but as I said earlier that now it is not being considered true Kashmir representative. Islamic world should be insisted to play a role in it. Organization of Islamic countries (OIC) conducts Islamic conference every year and every time expresses its solidarity with the Kashmir cause, but just verbal support does not suffice. All Islamic countries should stop all kinds of trade and relation with India and pressurize it to solve Kashmir. I am emphasizing Islamic countries, because we all know that Kashmir is a Muslim majority place so getting such kind of support is pragmatically comparatively very easy. After getting the Islamic support, Kashmir should turn towards the west. It should organize programmes in which English speaking youth be nurtured and made knowledgeable about the issue and sent to the universities of the United states, united kingdom, Australia and even to the strong Indian allies like Russia. This program should be launched at the high level with huge funds and responsible, knowledgeable people to take care of it. So in this way, Kashmir can build up its young intellectual army against India with non violence and India will be bound not to do anything with it.

CONCLUSION; India is a big country with an obdurate stand on Kashmir, so kashmiris should follow the above furnished two point theory of reviving their freedom passion and getting international support, with patience and perseverance.i am sure it is not difficult to do, but it needs joint efforts. Although Kashmir’s are making efforts but not in the right direction, all efforts by them should make one confluence and form an effort pool. I am certain this is the only best solution for it, which is really productive and does not ask for lot of blood shed.


Contact: www.kashmiryouthintellect.webs.com

The essay competition titled ‘How could Kashmir, the oldest unresolved dispute, be settled’ was  judged independently by Brian Cox, Senior Vice President, ICRD (International Centre for Religion and Diplomacy) in the United States who evaluated the essays and his decision was final.The winner was Mahboob-ul-Haq Makhdoomi of Indiana University, Pennsylvania, while Himanshu Goenka of London School of Oriential and African Studies and Tawseef Kashoo of University of Kashmir, Srinanagar were adjudged the second best.