“Are we still together?” Mr. Tariq asked his girlfriend, who lives outside the valley. “I thought you might have married someone else.”
His girlfriend broke down sobbing on the phone.”
It isn’t just love that is interrupted by the lack of phone service but the ability to contact emergency services, communication with family over sicknesses & deaths, in all areas of social life, & of course commerce.
Can any Kashmiris give us some insight into the arrest of prominent women including the sister & a daughter of Farooq Abdullah & the sister of Omar Abdullah for protesting? Quite frankly, we aren’t used to seeing images of such well-heeled protesters & are more accustomed to seeing working class women protesting. Is it cynicism to ask if the protest was primarily political grandstanding to help resuscitate the image of collaborators like Omar Abdullah & Mehbooba Mufti into moderate leaders?
(Photo from Leshan Wani on Twitter)
In Indian politics, the touchstone is one’s attitude toward the occupation of Kashmir. One’s attitude toward war & genocide trumps every other progressive view one holds & that is just as true in every other country. Not rah-rah for the working class, not ‘you go girl’ when it comes to women’s rights, but whether you are outspoken & active against war.
So when there is celebration over Abhijit Banerjee winning the Nobel prize in economics, we need find out where he stands on Kashmir. Because if you’re an economist who doesn’t get the effects of militarism on economics, your theory isn’t worth much.
Thank you to Bobby Kunhu for posting this elaboration by Preetika of Banerjee’s views on Kashmir. Let the celebrations end.
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“Nobel Prize winner, Abhijit Banerjee, advocated the “Punjab model” of counter-insurgency to handle Kashmir.
In Oct 11 edition of Hindustan Times, he wrote: “But it is also time to think hard about Kashmir. The best way to secure the border is to get local people to start looking out for terrorists — which is what ultimately helped us in Punjab. For that we need the local people on our side.” [Link in comments]
I have been crying hoarse about why we need to talk about Punjab and the so called “defeat of terrorism”. Punjab model means annihilation of a generation. It means a vicious policy of catch-kill-reward which turns members of a community against their own, where monetary gains overrun legality, community and morality. It means extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, mass illegal cremations. It means a fractured society and pervasive distrust.
It means that after more than three decades we are STILL fighting for justice. To tell our stories about how our brethren were reduced to ashes.
The now almost defunct J&K police was given increasing powers to act as a counter-insurgency arm and not be confined to “law and order” tasks alone. The SPOs are are another notorious legacy of the Punjab model: criminalised and deeply communal. They have been handed out bravery awards despite being accused of human rights violations.
Mr. Banerjee basically advocated for genocide.
Fuck your Nobel!”
This is an interesting article on the Kashmiri anthem of Azadi which includes a video of a protest where it is being chanted.
Media is reporting the claim by Indian officials that mobile phone networks were restored in Kashmir on Monday after a 72-day blackout but the internet is still snapped. Kashmiri friends, is there any truth to that at all?
Car caravan from Azad Kashmir to the Line of Control to #StandWithKashmir. The protest is ongoing as of October 15th.
Freedom March 👍
Posted by Kashmir Is Haven On Earth on Monday, October 14, 2019
Kashmiri youth paint anti-India, pro-freedom slogans on wall, roads.
Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan is ingenuous & making false distinctions when he asks why media is covering protests in Hong Kong but not in Kashmir. He is protecting China from criticism by democracy protesters to protect Pakistan’s contracts with China. Why hasn’t Khan spoken out against the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China? Why aren’t they included in that brilliant speech he gave against Muslim-hating at the UN?
A young Kashmiri protesting after Friday prayers yesterday in Srinagar despite restrictions imposed by the Indian government.
(Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)