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EDITORIAL Even as guns have become silent on LoC in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of unilateral ceasefire announced by India and reciprocity by Pakistan by ordering 'maximum restraint', there is the ominous acceleration in insurgency in Assam. This corelation is essential in that source for funding and sponsoring insurgency is the same in both areas namely ISI of Pakistan. There is ample evidence of ISI actively aiding ULFA rebels in Assam and other secessionist outfits in the seven north-eastern States. To be precise.....more It is ironical that strategic compulsions have brought both Russia and America on a common platform. Both have joined hands to move common resolution in Security Council to seek formidable sanctions against rogue Taliban ruled Afghanistan. It may look strange as only twenty years back America arranged, funded and trained these terrorists with Pakistan providing the bases to throw away Russian armed forces from Afghanistan. Today these very terrorists threaten American interests worldwide.......more |
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Tripartite Talks: K.N. Pandita Glimpses of developmental role of banks in J&K By Dr V John Devraj Relation between Chamba & Basohli States in the past By Rajeev Niryal By Laxmi Murthy |
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EDITORIAL Even as guns have become silent on LoC in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of unilateral ceasefire announced by India and reciprocity by Pakistan by ordering 'maximum restraint', there is the ominous acceleration in insurgency in Assam. This corelation is essential in that source for funding and sponsoring insurgency is the same in both areas namely ISI of Pakistan. There is ample evidence of ISI actively aiding ULFA rebels in Assam and other secessionist outfits in the seven north-eastern States. To be precise insurgency in NE States, Assam included, is much older than insurgency in Punjab followed by J&K State. Yet there is no end to violence. In fact, it continues to aggravate year after year. This is despite the fact that many ULFA rebels have surrendered in the recent past. This means new recruits are readily forthcoming to sustain insurgency at high-pitch. The killings of Hindi-speaking people by ULFA and NDFB terrorists which began on October 21 has already consumed 98 precious lives in eight massacres. The latest one has consumed 28 lives. It may be mentioned that these Hindi-speaking people mostly hail from Bihar or Rajasthan. They have been there since ages and to that extent form part and parcel of Assamese culture. They are all petty traders or labourers. Yet they have become wanton and selected targets. It is obvious that ULFA on its own gets nothing out of such mindless killings but ISI does gain in terms of creating chaos, anarchy, disharmony besides destabilisation of the border State. As things stand there are also counter attacks by unknown elements on the families of known ULFA terrorists. Things have never been normal though in this State with large scale influx of Bangladeshis which have changed demographic character of Assam in favour of the migrants and against the original inhabitants. IMDA Act instead of ensuring deportation of the illegal migrants in fact facilitates their continued stay in India. There is also total lack of development activities due to continued insurgency which shows no sign of abatement and large scale influx of Bangladeshis. Politics in the State has been so fine-tuned as to ignore national interests to subserve petty party interests in terms of protecting vote-pockets. The successive State and Central Governments are clearly in the dock for allowing the insurgency to elongate and aggravate. Designs of Pakistan are very clear. It has used launching pads in Bangladesh and Nepal to export terrorists, arms and saboteurs galore. These agents have marked their presence very convincingly in all the seven north eastern states namely Tripura, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, all having common borders because they have been carved out of composite State of Assam. While weakening these seven sisters, Pakistan has also succeeded in establishing formidable modules in many other places in India. Some months back Home Minister L K Advani claimed that many of such ISI modules have been destroyed. He however did not quantify them or gave break-up of such modules state-wise. He had also promised White Paper on ISI activities in India but the same remains as much elusive today as it was when first mooted. No wonder agents provocateurs belonging to Pak-based terrorist outfits are being nabbed with large quantity of RDX and other sophisticated weapons. Those nabbed in Maharashtra were sent to target Bal Thackeray as also destroy RSS headquarters in Nagpur. Bombay chain blasts of 1993 and Coimbatore blasts do indicate Pak designs. Large scale smuggling in of fake currency to fund insurgent activities also has a design. The design is very clear i.e. to weaken India economically, politically and otherwise to cause its ultimate balkanisations. The latest killings in Assam cannot be treated in isolation. It forms part of the bigger design. And this happens at a time when peace is being talked in J&K with all types of initiatives. This is simply not acceptable. Peace in one State must in no case result in escalation of insurgency in another State. It is here that Pakistan cannot be trusted and taken at its face value. By far the greatest blame lies on the successive State and Central Governments that have done very little to bring peace to Assam and other six States in the north east. Nothing prevents the Governments to deport over a crore of Bangladeshis, many of them on the pay role of ISI for sabotage activities in India. Only short term day to day measures are taken but nothing concrete is done to stop infiltration of ultras and other unwanted foreigners. Border fencing though talked of and sanctioned to plug the porous borders with Bangladesh remains on paper only. Nepal borders are open. Surely, there is no danger of Pakistan forces stopping this fencing in Assam and other six states as it has done in Jammu & Kashmir. These seven States are not disputed territories nor there is any border dispute. Delineation is complete and given the necessary funds, these borders can be sealed. Again, centre owes an explanation asto why joint operations in all, the seven States are not launched to finish the menace once for all. It is reported that ULFA killers in Assam have been hiding in Arunachal Pradesh thick forests. Why proper action has remained elusive all these years to flush them out. Piecemeal strategy heavily blended with wrong priorities and political expediencies continue to play havoc with the peaceful citizens in Assam in particular and other six States in general. A strong political will and viable strategy besides border fencing can contain the situation. In this context Assam Governor Lt. Gen. Sinha's missive last year holds the key to undo the damage and save not only NE States but also rest of India from chaos. It is ironical that strategic compulsions have brought both Russia and America on a common platform. Both have joined hands to move common resolution in Security Council to seek formidable sanctions against rogue Taliban ruled Afghanistan. It may look strange as only twenty years back America arranged, funded and trained these terrorists with Pakistan providing the bases to throw away Russian armed forces from Afghanistan. Today these very terrorists threaten American interests worldwide including blasting of American embassies in Africa that killed over 300 people, including scores of Americans, as also Blasting 'USS Cole' berthed in Aden (Yemen). Today very same terrorists continue to pose security problems for Russia in its province of Chechenya. Today, export of ruggadised terrorists from Afghan training camps have destroyed peace and tranquility of the people in Jammu &Kashmir. Threatened with the prospects of more such attacks on their vital interests both Russia and America sink their erstwhile rivalry, to tackle the common enemy. The sanctions now sought are very rigid as earlier sanctions failed to have any salutary effect. The Resolution moved in the Security Council seeks total arms embargo on Taliban ruled Afghanistan, freezing of Taliban assets abroad, immediate handing over of master terrorist Osama bin Laden to America and closing of all terrorist training camps in Afghanistan within 30 days. These sanctions in fact are directed against Pakistan which remains the only conduit and source of supplies to Talibans. Since Pakistan is a member of United Nations it cannot violate the Resolution. That explains why Pakistan has criticised this joint resolution. That also explains why Pak Mullahs have given a call for total boycott of American goods. It is watched keenly in India as how Pakistan responds to the hoarse, violent and aggressive cries of fundamentalists operating in Pakistan. |
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Tripartite Talks: Exercise in Futility K.N. Pandita Accepting tripartite talks on Kashmir means accepting the militants (or their representatives called APHC) and Pakistan as parties to the dispute. They are not and need not be accepted as such. A conglomerate of 23 groups, the APHC never proved its representative character by obtaining a formal mandate from the people. Yes, on its call, parts of Kashmir observe a bandh. That doesn’t prove its popularity. Strikes are called on the basis of Hurriyat’s menacing affinity to the gun-wielding youth answerable to none for their acts of violence and coercion. Its leaders address the mobs in mosques and pour rhetoric from the pulpit. Those who have the capacity to draw crowds are not in consonance with others and speak their own idiom.. No two top leaders of the organization agree on any agenda based on ground realities. One must mark the utterances of Abdul Ghani Lone now in Pakistan. If at all any political party of any consequence has a locus standi; it is only the National Conference. It has a majority in the legislative assembly and fulfils the criterion of the largest political representative group in Kashmir. NC’s stand on tripartite talks is too well known and need not be repeated. Pakistan has been demanding the tripartite talks following India’s unilateral declaration of cease-fire. One of the parties in its chemistry is APHC of which a profile has been drawn above. The demand for tripartite talks comes from the military regime in that country. Who does the regime represent? It ousted the representative government through muscle power. What right has it to ask for tripartite talks when its has no mandate of the people on whose behalf talks should normally be held? The military regime represents itself and not the people. In other words, at the best, it represents, if at all, one million Pakistani army and paramilitaries. But that is a country of 120 million people. What about 119 million Pakistanis? Who represents them? Moreover, even if tripartite talks are held successfully and an agreement is reached, what guarantee is there that the masses of people in Pakistan will accept it or that it will be acceptable to the civilian regime, which is likely to replace the military regime in near future? Two major political parties of Pakistan, namely PPP and PML, besides several other smaller groups, have recently formed the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy. That is a clear signal to India and to Kashmir dissidents that any agreement accepted by the military regime of Islamabad will not be accepted by it because it is not a democratic regime. In other words, the ARD wants to convey to the APHC and its affiliates in Kashmir that any decision on Kashmir accepted by the military regime through tripartite talks will serve only the interests of the regime and not of the people of Pakistan or Kashmir. Therefore, the tripartite talks that the military regime is asking for, is an exercise in futility. The military regime is mistaken to think it can win the people of Kashmir by a gimmick of tripartite talks. If at all the talks have to be held, the only party with valid popular mandate will be India. As such, whereas it will be unrealistic for Islamabad and the APHC to think of tripartite talks irrespective of its outcome, it will be naïve for New Delhi to conjure up any premise of the sort. APHC has to prove its popularity with the people and obtain a mandate. This is possible only by participating in the assembly elections scheduled for the next year. The prospect is not totally rejected at this point of time by a section of APHC echelon. No wonder, therefore, that more Hurriyat leaders will fall in line in due course of time. Assuming that talks are held and solutions are sought, India cannot surrender an inch of land in Kashmir. It is so because the Indian Parliament has passed a unanimous resolution in 1995 saying that the part of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan is legally, historically and constitutionally the territory of Indian Union, and she has the will and capacity to take it back. No government in New Delhi, even if that government has a two-third-majority vote, can rescind the earlier resolve of the Indian nation expressed through the aforesaid resolution. Only a unanimous resolution of the Indian Parliament can undo the earlier one. And that unanimity is a myth and can never be attained. It goes to the credit of the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao who succeeded in securing a unanimous resolution at a time when India was facing a condemnation motion on Kashmir mooted by Pakistan in the UN Human Rights Commission. The Western bloc with the support of the OIC members was in a mood of supporting it. The Parliamentary resolution came at the nick of time and thwarted the mischief of India’s enemies. This writer was an eye - witness to the embarrassment that had gripped the Indian delegation at Geneva at that time. Thus Pakistan should be told in no ambiguous words that tripartite talks are a myth. Parties without a mandate, having appropriated power through clandestine means, cannot sit down to decide the fate of more than ten million people. The three parties suggested by Pakistan for the talks defy logic. APHC is a dissident group, conceived, raised and supported by Pakistan (or its intelligence agency?). It has throughout been speaking the language of Pakistan, though now and then giving a passing brush of ‘aazaadi’ to its stand. It never opposed the armed struggle sponsored by Pakistan. It never rejected the foreign mercenaries entering the valley in droves to take the initiative of fighting the Indian troops in their hand. Only now has Abdul Ghani Lone spoken of that, and that too when he saw with his eyes what is the agenda of Pakistan-based religious extremist organisations for Kashmir. APHC never went to the people, as the NC went to ask them for their vote and support. It never said that it stood for a democratic, secular and pluralistic political dispensation for Kashmir. It never publicly announced itself distancing from fundamentalists and terrorists. It never announced any political programme, economic plan for development, social reformation or institutional re-organisation of the State if it ever came to power. It is a conglomerate of fanatics, marginalised lumpen and over-ambitious people seeking to grab power to misuse it. How come this group is credited with respectability to the extent that it becomes a party to be talked to. If at all India has to talk to anybody, it is not only the APHC. There are rumblings in Jammu and Ladakh. There is a deep-seated sense of discrimination and negligence among the people of these regions. India should talk to their genuine representatives including the NC, which is the largest party and in power through popular vote. No less important is the group that has been extirpated from its homeland, sent on forced exile and is languishing in that state for last one decade. It should be remembered by all, protagonists and antagonists, that unless the issue of the return of Kashmir Pandits is resolved amicably and to their satisfaction, no peace effort will ever prove successful and no peace will prove abiding in Kashmir. The acid test of India’s secularism is the way it handles the IDP issue. While Kashmir is an integral part of India, the Pandits are an integral part of Kashmir issue. |
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Relation between Chamba & Basohli States in the past By Rajeev Niryal Chamba and Basohli States were two unique States of northern India. According to 'Vanshavalis' of the ruling family, these States are the oldest States and their contribution in the field of art is of permanent value. These States are safely near the trade route of northern India. According to Alberuni (11th century), this trade route started from Kanauj to Kashmir and passing through Pinjor, Dhamel (Nurpur), reached Balor and Ladda. Moreover, these States were situated away from the more frequented road of foreign invaders to India since time immemorial. As a result these States were rather peaceful and safe heavens for people displaced due to political chaos and recurring invasions. As these States were located in the lap of hills, therefore, these were comparatively safe from the marauding and plundering armies. Both these two States had similarities in geography, population and culture. Both the States are mountainous having almost identical landscape climate and alpine vegetation such as deodar, oak and silver fir. Their terrain was equally broken by rivers and nullahs, most of which were drained into the Ravi. Both the hill States had similar terrain ranging between 3000 ft. and 21,000 fit. from the seal level. People of both the States used to speak Dogri from very early days. Amir Khusrau, a 13th century scholar, mentions in his book Nauh Sipihr the facts of Dogri being spoken in Punjab hills. The relations of both the States were sometimes cordial and sometimes strained. A part of their border was common to both and a few villages had been the bone of contention between the two States. Many battles were fought on these problems and many times reconciliations took place. Sometimes neighbouring and powerful States like Kangra and Jammu intervened, as well as extended their influence over them. A number of letters and Sanads in Takri and Persian housed in Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba, Catalogue Appendix IV. Documents Nos. C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4 throw light on their border problem. Compelled by this problem both these States had to contract secret treaties of friendship with the neighbouring States in order to strengthen their position in case of out break of war on the problem of Kiur, Bhilai, Jhond etc. which were situated on the border of these two States. This dispute was finally settled by Mughal officers in the middle of the 17th century in favour of Chamba. Ethnically, the people of both these States belong to the same Aryan stock inhereting similar traditions, cultures, rites and customs. People of both the States belonged to the Dogra society. The same castes were found in both the States and they worshipped common Gods. Even in the matter of dresses, food and drinks, they had similar habits. The cultural exchanges were also marked by give and take of miniature albums and even painters were exhanged from one State to the other. Many other pieces of art like paintings, Chamba - Rumal and wooden arts were exchanged. The study of the society of these two States will yield useful information. Majority of their population was composed of tribes of ancient origin which retained much of their ancient character. Old traditions and folk elements persisted in their way of life, rituals, customs and every day behaviour. At the bottom of the social order were what we call in modern terminology the 'common people'. They consisted of roughly four castes - the Ghirths, Kanets, Gosains and the low castes. Ghirths and the Kanets formed the backbone of the rural economy as they were responsible for the cultivation of the soil. They were also recruited in large number in the hill armies. The were also many lower castes like the Chamars, Jhewars, Kolis, Daqis and Chands, who generally used to work as domestic servants of the higher castes or carried on lowly occupations. They were also employed as labourers and artisans in the villages. The Gaddis and the Gujjars were (and are) pastoral and nomadic tribes who were (and are) considered outside the pale of the caste system and ranked slighly above the lower caste in the social order. This multi-tribal society possessed comprehensive social stratification based on the principles of untouchability, taboos on inter-dining and inter-marriages, which were an integral part of social system. The religious and sectarian faith of the people of these States was unpolluted by later modern thoughts. Their study reveals the primitive element in their way of worship, their deities and shrines, mostly Saiva and Shakta. There are numerous temples dedicated to Sakti are Sakti Devi, Chamunda Devi, Sukrala Devi, etc. all in the Basohli and Chamba States. Administration of these States was of very primitive type, based mostly on tribal - Panchayat system. Inspite of this, the administration system served in maintaining law and order. It was based on feudal principles, of which King was the head. King's justice was the mainstay of this system. Raja Bhalbhadar and Charat Singh of Chamba were known for their peity, generosity and good administration. Next 'to king were his nobles known as Wazirs, who were invariably very influential. Natha Wazir of Chamba played a very important part in saving his State from complete annexation by the Sikhs. States were divided into smaller units for administrative system which were called Thara. The Rajas of these States had a standing forces of their guards but the army was composed of tribal levies consisting of all the young men able to hold arms. Hutchison and Vogel in his book History of Punjab Hill States and Thakur Kahan Singh Baloria in Tawarikh-i-Rajputan-i-Mulk-i-Punjab give some crude description of this administrative system. These States enjoyed independence for most of their existence, but it seems that since the days of Sultan Feroz Tughlaq (1351-85), they loosely acknowledge supremacy of the rulers of Delhi and paid some kind of tribute. In the case of Chamba, only Mughals could establish their supremacy for some time. During the reign of Chattar Singh of Chamba and Dhiraj Pal of Basohli (1648), these States seem to have thrown aside all symbols of supremacy, when Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of a Hindu temple in Chamba State. In Defiance of this order, Raja Chattar Singh recommended the gilt pinnacle to be put on all the main temples. Both the States of Chamba and Basohli were economically sound both in natural resources and in the field of cottage industries and handicrafts. They were rich in forest produce and various types of herbs and edible - roots. The trade of both these States was flourishing and being on or near the northers trade route, their approach to the various markets was easy. Hence, they were financially sound, commercially rich and economically inter-dependent on each other. Most of the crafts like Chamba - Rumal, woollen goods and wood works were instance of such inter-dependence. The raw material as well as craft-men were exchanged between these two States. The shawl-trade was common to both these two States. |
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By Laxmi Murthy Watching three visually impaired boys swaying to the melody of a flute had a profound impact on Tripura Kashyap, when she was a student at Kalakshetra in the early eighties. Unaware of the concept of dance therapy at that time, Kashyap was nevertheless deeply moved by the organic manner in which the boys moved in rhythm to the music. This experience propelled Kashyap, a contemporary dancer and choreographer, to evolve into an innovative dance therapist. Trained in the rigorous Bharatanatyam tradition in Kalakshetra, Kashyap was chafing at the restrictions of a regimented training in classical dance. "I felt I was constantly praying to god," says Kashyap, who calls herself 'irreligious'. Sensing her restlessness, Rukmini Devi Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra, chose Kashyap to be sent to Chandralekha-the now legendary dancer at the helm of the contemporary dance movement in India. "I learnt a lot with Chandra, who helped me to challenge many traditional notions of dance. Her dynamic use of space was a refreshing departure from classical Bharatanatyam and its rigid definitions of space, technique and movement, " says Kashyap. After finishing her course, convinced that 'your first learn, then reject', Kashyap went to the USA for a course in dance and movement at the Hancock Centre for Movement Arts and Therapies in Wisconsin. Here, she learnt how informal, non-traditional approaches in dance could help disabled people to evolve individualised styles of communication. Back in India, Kashyap became aware that Indian physical traditions and movement practices offered a larger canvas for dance as therapy. She began adapting Indian folk dances, Kalaripayyatu (the martial art from Kerala) and styles like Mayurbhanj Chhau, into dance therapy for people with mental, emotional or physical disabilities. For instance, she uses hand gestures and facial expressions from classical dances to create movement poems or stories for hearing impaired children. Similarly, she uses a variety of props from Indian folk dances like sticks, bomboos, cymbals and scarves with mentally challenged children. These are used to improve group coordination and enhance eye-hand coordination and imitation skills. With visually impaired adults, Kashyap uses the 'Karma' tribal dance from Madhya Pradesh. This acts like a contact dance, with participants holding hands in a line and carrying out challenging tasks like moving backwards, making a circle and other designs. "The dance helps to heighten their spatial awareness and reduce fear of space around them. Through other group dances the visually impaired gain confidence to deal with their bodies in a more relaxed manner," says Kashyap. "Dance is the most fundamental of the arts, involving a direct expression of oneself through the body," she says. "Moving spontaneously to music helps us to become aware of ourselves the inhibitions we carry, fear of body expression, lack of confidence and the monotony of having to move in conditioned ways." In dance therapy, body movement interaction is utilised to attain therapeutic goals and helps to enhance the emotional and physical unity of an individual. Through the Apoorva Dance Theatre which she set up in Bangalore six years ago, Kashyap conducts workshops for special educators, teachers, social workers, dancers and mental health professionals who work with normal or disabled groups of adults or children. This therapy can be applied to a wide range of diagnostic categories: the mentally challenged, physically disabled, slow learners, visually or hearing impaired, schizophrenic adults as well as survivors of rape and sexual abuse. Movement evaluation for each disablement enables the therapist to design special therapy tailored to individual needs. A Fellowship from the Ashoka Foundation nearly five years ago has enabled Kashyap to carry forward her innovative work in training teachers in dance therapy as part of the educational curriculum. But one does not need to have a 'problem' to benefit from dance therapy, stresses Kashyap. It can also help to release stress and help gain a better understanding of one's movement potential, conflicts and needs. In fact, it was the experience of working with therapeutics in dance and exploring its relationship with disabled people that took Kashyap back to the basics of movement. "I began to gather fresh inputs in terms of movement construction, composition, improvisation and group dynamics which later fed into my personal creative work," she says. Her foray into choreography gained impetus when Kashyap was invited to be a choreographer-in-residence at the American Dance Festival where she trained in Jazz ballet, modern dance techniques and dance theatre. Creating a 'personal movement vocabulary' in her missing, departing from boundaries of particular 'style' or 'form'. "Art should not remain an 'object' but should reflect life, emerging from organic links with society", says Kashyap, whose attempts to extend the boundaries of creativity never end. (WFS) |
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