Monthly Archives: September 2020
Five-part documentary titled ‘The Killing of Kashmir’: the series is the work of non-Kashmiris Sandra Jordan & Rodrigo Vasquez but a Kashmiri said he almost got killed working on it.
Part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q_H3K2aHuI&feature=youtu.be&
Part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYnTOc7b_rM&feature=youtu.be&
Part three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UToUMvaJ0co&feature=youtu.be&
Part four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqd6_wLy6Hs&feature=youtu.be&
Part five: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZgmWNGv52c&feature=youtu.be&
“In the midst of a pandemic, the Indian government finds it an utmost priority to identity 67 locations in Kashmir where they plan to set up liquor shops. Making liquor widely available is another attempt to humiliate Kashmiri Muslim sentiments & attract non-Muslim settlers.”
–Tweeted by Stand With Kashmir
Posted June 20, 2020
“Modi’s biggest weapon is denial. As per him, the solution to every problem is basically denying it. There is no intrusion of Chinese Army into Ladakh; soldiers died for nothing, economy is booming, we are defeating Covid19, India is a utopia for Muslims, and sab changa si.
Also, demonetization was a masterstroke.”
–Tweeted by Nabiya Khan | نبیہ خان @NabiyaKhan11
Since it’s Indian nationalists reporting it, we don’t know if Chinese soldiers are actually using nail-studded bats & rods against Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, or not. Savagery is a common denominator in militarism so it’s possible. Such violence is what US torture prisons are all about & is just like the sticks, rods, & cables used by Indian soldiers against Kashmiris. Like the rods they use to hit protesters with or to give electric shocks to political prisoners. Like the rod special forces commandoes shoved in the mouth of 8-year-old Sameer Ahmad Rah after they beat him to death in 2010.
There’s a lot of tribute being paid to Indian soldiers who have died in Galwan Valley. Some are simple condolences, as is fitting. Some are nationalist fulminations about ‘fallen heroes’. The Indian soldier is no more a hero in Ladakh than he is is Kashmir or than a US soldier is in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or anywhere else. China has no more rights to Ladakh than it does to Tibet. Nor does India. We should demand the immediate withdrawal of all Chinese & Indian troops & leave the sensationalism to nationalists.
(Photo of nail-studded rod that Chinese troops are allegedly using in Ladakh)
Posted June 18, 2020
Omar Abdullah deactivated his Twitter account today after getting his ass kicked by Kashmiris for tweeting, “Those Kashmiris tempted to look towards China as some sort of saviour need only google the plight of Uighur Muslims.” Does he see legions of Kashmiris cheering on the Chinese army in the military confrontation with the Indian army in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh? Does he actually believe Kashmiris don’t understand militarism & colonial occupation after 73 years of colonialism & occupation? Or is he playing up to the Indian Army in hopes they will help him establish his old glory as a collaborator? Even after playing a Nelson Mandela impersonation as a political prisoner (detained in health spa accommodations), he has no more value as a collaborator since he is so discredited among the Kashmiris who he holds in such contempt. If he had only listened to the voices of Kashmiris rather than his Indian colonial masters, he might not have to hide in shame today.
Posted June 17, 2020
An interesting piece on the standoff between India & China in Ladakh.
Were it not for the Black Lives Matter movement to raze white supremacist statues all over the world, this story from India might have gotten lost. This is a photo from October 8th, 2018 of two Dalit women named Sheela Bai Pawar & Kanta Ramesh Ahire along with a third associate named Dawood Shakeel Sheikh spraying black paint on the statue of Manu outside Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur, India. Manu is a Hindu mythological figure who codified the rights & duties of castes & women in the Manusmriti. Basically, it lays out the bases for Brahmanical & patriarchal superiority. It’s an ancient text & there is considerable academic dispute about the authenticity of a work that appears to have several authors. Apparently, it’s like the Hindutva Bible.
The two Dalit women were arrested & booked on several charges including offending religious sentiments. They were released on bail within a few weeks & it is uncertain what further consequences they sustained. They are part of the political current of Dalit feminist activists who object to Manusmriti for its declarations of caste & female subordination & inferiority.
There’s much more to this story which involves Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), the towering figure of the Dalit movement & an Indian jurist, economist, politician & social reformer who drafted the Indian constitution after India became independent in 1947. In 1927, Dr. Ambedkar gave an oration at the symbolic Dalit burning of the Manusmriti against its presumptions of Brahmin & male supremacy. He had done extensive groundbreaking theoretical & legal work on the rights of the oppressed castes & of women.
If there is anyone who should have a statue in India, it would be Dr. Ambedkar & if there are any statues that should be removed, it would be those which promote supremacist ideas which have caused so much destruction in the world.
(Photo from several sources; photographer not identified)
Posted June 15, 2020
Kashmiri journalist Rifat Abdullah reports today that out of 125 tested, 79 soldiers from Indian Army CRPF battalions tested positive for covid-19. Nineteen in Shopian, fourteen in Kupwara, six in Baramulla, three in Bandipora, one in Ganderbal, one in Srinagar, one in Budgam, & one in Kulgam.
Imagine deploying armies during a pandemic without testing or treating them for covid-19. That is exactly how India, Russia, Israel, the US & its European allies, Iran, & probably every other military in the world are jeopardizing the health of millions just from a health point of view & before the killing has even begun.
(Rifat Abdullah رفعت عبداللہ @rifatabdullahh)
Posted June 15, 2020