Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

During his meeting with delegation of the Jammu & Kashmir Motor Transport Companies Association led by its Chairman T S Wazir, several important decisions have been taken. Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has not only appreciated the difficulties caused to transport operators on the national highway due to random and frequent checks by the traffic police but also given on-spot instructions to the concerned officials not to check the vehicles at unspecified points. He has specified only 6 terminals for the purpose. These are Lakhanpur, Akhnoor, Bharkah Turning point, Udhampur, Ramban and Qazigund. Officials have been ordered to develop these terminals on priority. He has also asked them to ensure that trucks are cleared speedily to reach destination in time. The Association has been agitating and made several approaches to the powers that be for addressing to their grievances. Their foremost complaint is against the random checking by traffic cops all along the national highway linking Jammu with.........more

NATIONAL ISSUE

Men, Matters, Memories
Valley awaits for snowbound

By : M L Kotru

Another fortnight or so, and the passes along the line of con-trol in Jammu and Kashmir would be snowbound, giving the tortured valley comparative......more

Yours Randomly,
Kya ceasefire ek Gehri
Saazish hai?.....

By Dr R L Bhat

Not even a simple conspiracy, but a 'deep-rooted' one! Yes, that is how the so-called Azad Kashmir Radio called the unilateral ceasefire announced......more

MEN AND MATTERS
Chinese goods, not
Chinese, attract Indians

From B L Kak

The nationwide customs drive against "smuggled and under-valued" Chinese consumer goods! The drive, undoubtedly, is an event of tremendous importance.....more

Killing in the name of Islam
the most heinous crime

By Dr Farida Khanam

In Islam, killing is unlawful in the absolute sense of the world. The only possible exception is the case of one who, having committed.....more

EDITORIAL

CHECKING TERMINALS

The Association has been agitating and made several approaches to the powers that be for addressing to their grievances. Their foremost complaint is against the random checking by traffic cops all along the national highway linking Jammu with Srinagar. The same truck could be stopped any number of times by different sets of cops enroute. It is obvious that this repeat exercise not only upsets the delivery schedules but put the truckers to obvious financial loss because each time they are stopped they have to shell out the asked amount. Such corrupt practice has assumed menacing proportions as trucks are driven by the drivers while their owners are reputed companies. Besides monetary loss, there is always the danger of harassment and even physical threats. This aspect apart, belatedly such random checks have also become security concerns. It may be mentioned that the latest massacres on Ramban-Banihal route happened by this bogus 'random checks' by 'uniformed' ultras posing as security personnel. Afraid of the khakis or the olive green, the truckers stopped and precious lives are thus lost. Yet another concern is the delayed delivery of good destined for valley or return trip. Many a time emergency supplies have to be despatched which require unhindered passage to make it in time. Needless to say that national highway is the lifeline to valley and all impediments to smooth flow of supplies must be remove so that goods reach the destination in time. Any interruption could result in price escalation of essential commodities. Needless to say that transporters play dominant role in ensuring smooth supplies with timely deliveries despite security related problems. It is thus the duty of any Government to address to the problems expeditiously.

Now that agreement is signed and Chief Minister promises to carry out random checks of the cops deployed enroute himself, the message is loud and clear. Traffic cops will not carry out any checks anywhere other than terminals specified. With these orders normally there ought not to be any problem as regards implementation. But going by the track record of Government's orders on various issues and the tardy implementation by the concerned officials, many ponderables naturally crop up. First, land has to be provided for creating large terminals to accommodate many trucks at a time. Assuming land is already there, necessary infrastructure has to be created so that there is no excuse for the cops to detain or delay the trucks. Speedy clearance demands ignoring petty lapses/offences which must be settled on-spot. This means there must not be any room for harassment and witch-hunting of the drivers/operators enroute. Creation of infrastructure obviously needs adequate funds. Resource crunch often comes in the way of implementation of policy decisions. Chief Minister should see to it that funds or no funds, random checking enroute stops forthwith. Another aspect relates to buses, cars and other vehicles plying on the national highway either way. They too should not be exposed to random checks enroute. Many of such buses are chartered and hapless passengers are our honoured guests. On no account passengers should be exposed to any harassment. Whatever checking is required must be done at the assigned checking terminals. Yet another grey area relates to proper security on the national highways in Jammu & Kashmir State. The enemy must not be allowed any latitude and all that is feasible must be done to ensure safety of the truck operators as also the passengers. How it is to be achieved is the job of security experts. Unless these aspects are properly addressed mere creation of 6 checking terminals may not yield the desired results.

NATIONAL ISSUE

Cutting across party lines, barring Shiv Sena all parties have welcomed the peace initiative taken by Prime Minister Vajpayee by ordering ceasefire in J&K during the month of Ramzan. It augurs well for the country that there is near total consensus amongst all the parties to treat Jammu & Kashmir as a national issue. Earlier, Parliament had passed a unanimous resolution stating entire Jammu & Kashmir (including PoK) integral part of India and taking steps at appropriate time to restore status quo ante as it existed before 1947 at the time of partition. To be precise many MPs individually and parties have criticised the Government for not taking any initiative for bringing peace to the Valley. They have been advocating talks with estranged from the national mainstream but otherwise happen to be sons of the soil. Vajpayee made an honest attempt by taking vital initiative of going to Lahore and signing the Lahore Declaration which specified contours of various issues and how they were to be resolved bilaterally for which several expert groups were to be set up. It is quite another thing that Pakistan back-stabbed and successor military ruler wriggled out of Lahore Declaration. This time round, the initiative of ordering ceasefire is well calculated risk meant to subserve awkening amongst people the virtues of peaceful environs as against the hostile one through which they have led traumatic life for the last 11 years. Another purpose sought to be served is to bring as many estranged sons within the mainstream as possible. Yet another purpose which is sought to be served is moulding international opinion in favour of our peaceful dispensation as against compulsive hostility displayed by Pakistan ever since partition.

At this stage it would be wrong to expect miracles. In the chain of many experiments there is no harm in having one more. It is all the more essential as there is no tailor-made solution for the Kashmir imbroglio. Some political breakthrough is vital for ultimate resolve of the ticklish issue. Response to the ceasefire has been good in as much as Hurriyat comprising of 23 outfits gives indication of doing everything to give peace a chance. All major powers like America, Russia, Great Britain and others have asked Pakistan to respond positively to the ceasefire. Pakistan in the given circumstances has limited options. As regards security concerns getting jeopardised, Prime Minister has assured that these have been adequately addressed and that all attempts by the enemy to sabotage ceasefire will be foiled. He goes on to the extent of telling that security forces are on full alert to adequately respond to any situation. It is wrong to assume that Pakistan or its cronies would be allowed any mercy or latitude during the ceasefire.

Men, Matters, Memories
Valley awaits for snowbound

By : M L Kotru

Another fortnight or so, and the passes along the line of con-trol in Jammu and Kashmir would be snowbound, giving the tortured valley comparative respite from the depredations of the terrorists trooping in from across the border. The closure of the passes is an annual occurence which affords some relief to a people caught in the middle of the eleven-year-old battle between the Pak sponsored terrorists and the Indian Security Forces. This year's respite could well have been a little more enjoyable, New Delhi having declared a unilateral cease-fire to coincide with the holy month of Ramzan. In the event though the cease-fire may not turn out to be the boon many thought it could be.

The Pakistanis and their hired hordes have been quick to dismiss the cease-fire as a ruse, a 'natak' (farce, as the Lahore-based Lashkar-e-Toiba chief described it). Not so unexpectedly the Islamabad-based chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen, perhaps the only largely Kashmiri militant outfit, was equally dismissive of the Indian initiative. I say 'not so unexpectedly' because the last time when his own commander in Kashmir, Abdul Majid Dar declared a unilateral cease-fire in July-August this year, Syed Salahuddin was forced by his Pakistani masters to turn his back on the offer. He was severely reprimanded and, briefly, even removed from his so-called leadership of the 15 militant fundamentalist outfits operating out of Pakistan. One had at the time expected Salahuddin, a Kashmiri himself, to show greater concern for the wishes of his men fighting in the Kashmiri minefields but he succumbed to the pressure tactics of his mentors in Islamabad. This time over, too, the Hizbul's commanders in the valley, who naturally are in closer touch with the ground reality, would seem to be inclined to give peace a chance, if that were possible at all, but the pakistanis are in no mood to oblige. The Hizbul Mujahideen, as a unit may still find it difficult to reject the offer out right. Indications to this effect are already available.

The Hurriyat, unable to chart out a future role for itself, has acted predictably, some of its leaders admitting in private that the cease-fire offer should be accepted and treated as a basis for starting a dialogue with New Delhi; the official line though continues to be the usual ''Yes, No, Yes....only if...''. Of the Hurriyat leaders, Abdul Ghani Lone, enjoying his celebrity role at his son's wedding in Islamabad with the Pakistani JKL chief, Amanullah Khan's daughter, has been the only one to openly suggest acceptance of the cease-fire. He had reason for it, though. Not accepting the offer would give Indians a handle, said he. Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, another Hurriyat leader, has been his usual self, a master of equivocation. He reminds me a bit of his late father who was killed by the Mujahideen, in the early phase of terrorism because of his known indicisiveness. Omar seems to be a bit of a misfit in a Hurriyat riven by sharp differences. He is perhaps also affected by the Kashmiri Muslims' shattered romance with Pakistan, having discovered the truth that Pakistan is as hungry to acquire Kashmir as India is loathe to part with it. This latter aspect is causing concern to many other Kashmiri Muslim nationalists as well who cannot reconcile their Islam with the fundamentalist variety which the Pakistanis wish to impose on them.

So far as the Indian offer is concerned it puts the options before the militant groups operating in the State in a clearer perspective. Ever since the aborted ceasefire declared by the Hizbul Mujahideen earlier this year, there has been a certain uncertainty about what exactly the Hizb has in mind. The Hizbul itself on that occasion appeared to be in two minds over how far it was prepared to go. The Prime Minister's present offer, well-intentioned as it is, is directed at the valley-based faction of the Hizbul as much as it is intended to give the Hurriyat the opportunity to come forward with whatever it has on its mind. Both must realise that there is a growing constituency of people in the valley, who, whatever their earlier perceptions of militancy, are tired of the ceaseless terror of the past decade and more.

Vajpayee has made the gesture in the context of his earlier calls for a resolution of the Kashmiri issue in the spirit of humanism although it is a fact that both New Delhi and Islamabad have been under some pressure from several quarters to try to talk things over. The ceasefire offer does in that context create some space for dialogue. It would be stupid on the part of the Pakistanis, the militant outfits and dialogue. It would be stupid on the part of the Pakistanis, the militant outfits and the pro-Pak Hurriyat conference to dismiss the initiative peremptorily. And yet that is what appears to be happening. The Pakistanis have been very sceptical about the whole thing. The militants have acted on very predictable lines, echoing, initially and more trenchantly, what Islamabad has said in less offensive words.

The Hurriyat's repeated stress on inclusion of Pakistan in any dialogue as a precondition does not stand to reason. Even if one were to accept the Pakistani view that it has no direct hand in the ''insurgency'' in Jammu and Kashmir it becomes all the more necessary that New Delhi tries to sort out its internal problems in the State first, before engaging Pakistan in a dialogue. Another surprising aspect of the Hurriyat's position concerning recognition by New Delhi of the existence of the Kashmiri ''dispute'' beats imagination. India does not have to accept the existence of the dispute to please the Hurriyat. India and Pakistan are committed to solving the Kashmir dispute through peaceful bilateral negotiations under the terms of the Shimla accord. Even Atal Behari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif pledged at Lahore to resolve all outstanding disputes peacefully. The strident demand by the Hizb and Hurriyat to make Pakistan a party to resolving what must remain an internal problem in the State (assuming for the sake of argument that Pakistan is not involved in unleashing cross-border terrorism) sounds strange

The truth it seems lies somewhere around the happenings in July-August last year when the Hizbul offered a unilateral cease-fire. The Pakistanis were apparently shocked by the response the Hizbul offer evoked in the valley. The prospects of peace and negotiaitons, which the Hizbul's July offer raised, brought generations of Kashmiris into the open in an unprecedented demonstration of togetherness. The Hizbul, which was treated as pariah by the government and feared for the most part by ordinary Kashmiris, was suddenly embraced by all, even the local administration. This obviously caused great alarm to the Pakistani rulers and the fundamentalist parties there. The Hurriyat conference was caught on the wrong foot on that occasion as well, first rejecting, then welcoming the Hizbul initiative before writing it off as so much nonsense.

The Hurriyat conference, if it wishes to be taken seriously, will have to do a rethink about its role in the State's affairs. If it is serious about its claim to being a representative political party it will have to get rid of its Pakistani predelictions and instead identify itself with the people of the State and their aspirations, of which accession to Pakistan can be no part. The Hurriyat, should it be able to shake off its Pakistani links, could well serve as a bridge to Pakistan and enable the people of that country to understand the need for a compromise on Kashmir, one that benefits all and in the bargin saves Pakistan from being Talibanised. Talibanisation of Pakistan is an imminent possibility which can only be bad news for the Pakistani people as a whole. It surely can't be good news for Hurriyat and those who share its thinking in the Valley. The latest initiative by Vajpayee gives the Hurriyat a unique opportunity to establish its credentials as a genuine Kashmiri party wedded to the cultural moorings of the State which vaguely answer to the description called Kashmiriyat, however unrealistic that may sound now.

Never mind the Hurriyat's ''Ye, no, yes... may be'' response to the Vajpayee initiative, New Delhi must pursue its policy of reconciliation within the valley. It will be a hard and difficult task. Much balancing will have to be done in dealing with the Hurriyat and the Hizbul on the one hand and the pro-India parties in the Valley like the National Conference, Mufti Sayeed's Democratic Party, the CPIM not to speak of the BJP, the Buddhists and the Kashmiri Pandits on the other. Any reasonable solution must start on the premise that no solution to the dispute can be found on the basis of altering the existing boundaries- or call it the line of control. What is needed is greater involvement of the people in the running of the State's affairs. Call it greater autonomy or what you will, transparency and fairplay should be the touch-stone to test the genuineness of any agreements. There is no point in reverting to old methods of subverting popular will in our part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Vajpayee initiative, as the American and the European Union have already indicated opens up a window of opportunity. It would be too bad, if Pakistan and its men operating in the valley, were to dismiss it as a ruse or a ''natak''.

Yours Randomly,
Kya ceasefire ek Gehri Saazish hai?.....

By Dr R L Bhat

Not even a simple conspiracy, but a 'deep-rooted' one! Yes, that is how the so-called Azad Kashmir Radio called the unilateral ceasefire announced by Prime Minister Vajpayee in view of Ramzan. Because Ramzan, said Vajpayee, is a month of austerities, holy to Muslims. That the month is a holy one, say the militant, enjoins it upon us to intensify the jehad against Indians. And hosts of Pakistani outfits, lead by the Amir-i-Jamat himself, heartily concur. But even if the Indian understanding of 'holy' Ramzan as a month of restraint and devotions, free from rancour and rascality be at variance with the Pak interpretation of what being holy implies, it still doesn't make the ceasefire announcement a conspiracy. And a 'deep-rooted conspiracy'? No way!

Unless, of course, Islam stands for ceaseless jehad. And that is what the Pakistan's holier-than-all Muslims insist upon. Jehad is a religious duty, .... nay, and an injunction to be waged unrelentedly, in a single- minded pursuit. For isn't it a holy duty to annihilate all infidels, overthrow all opposition and establish the kingdom of haq? There, rights and freedoms are not the issue at all. Nor would that take note of any grievances nor attempts to set them right. Peace, there, is a distraction, and development positively harmful. Empowerment is irrelevant and education a suspicious thing, for its wont to question.

There is good reason to believe that there across the borders -- and yonder too --- people do take this view. That is why Taliban is seen as a band of selfless fidayeen, who are daring the devils of modernism, order and development. There a person who escapes jail, by what you may call an un-Islamic stratagem of holding a hundred innocents hostage, is not only given a hero's welcome but enough men and materials to raise within months an 'army for Mohammad'. There the lay people are laying everything at the feet of Mujahideen who take to jehad. For they consider it as the only worthy cause.

For them insurgency in Kashmir as well as the devastation in Afghanistan, along with the anarchy in Pakistan, is nothing but the 'struggle' of a faithful people to do 'the God's bidding'. It may be a few vested interests hijacking whole people but those interests are vested to further, as they say, Godly dictates. Godly dictates that find even the universal Urdu designation 'khuda' abdominable. That dictum does not find anything to distinguish Musharraf from Sharif, except their successes or failures in promoting those dictates. The former became acceptable with the feather of Kargil offensive in this cap while the latter's pulling out of Kargil undid him. Just as the August ceasefire was about to undo Salahudin. For ceasefire are impediments to the 'cause'. Democracy or dictatorship is beside the point since the 'cause' transcends both.

That cause demands that people shun progress as they do in Pakistan, that people decry peace as they do in Afghanistan, that people piffle freedoms and empowerment, as they do all over the Gulf. And devote themselves, self, sons and soil to the 'cause' and its 'glory'. Indeed, that 'cause' can be kept alive only if peace and prosperity, education and development are kept at bay, confined to the few. There peace is a zulm, prosperity a dhoka, development a saazish because they all wean the people away from the faith. From that perspective Vajpayee's ceasefire is definitely a 'conspiracy' against the faithfuls of Islam. A 'deep rooted' one for it does carry the 'danger' of luring the people away from the 'pathways' to heaven the God.

Now if that is un-Islamic shouldn't Islam be telling them so? Tell the brigands and exconvicts that theirs is no service to Islam but belittling it. That can't be done by taking political postures. Kashmir could be an Islamic cause or a political issue. It is either Islam or freedom. The two can't be clubbed. Jehad is not a human rights issue. It is not a struggle for freedoms, but for the furtherance of faith, the faith of Islam. Nor is fundamentalism for politicking.

Pakistan, arisen out of cleverly contrived confusion between Islam and aspirations, has been piling that confusion for fifty years. And, getting away with it. It has been recruiting men, mobilizing materials and moving public support, within the country and in Islamic States, in the name of Islam. On the side the confusion is buttressed with a confounding mix of politics, freedoms and rights. From across the borders mullahs, moulanas and ulema are sending hordes of people to crusade for faith. The ready adjusters here cloak them in democracy's robes. Together they have been befooling a billion people' why, even the whole six billion of the world with this brew of faith and democracy.

But most they are hoodwinking the people of Kashmir. Or, are they? And, that makes it incumbent upon the people of Kashmir to clarify whether it is Islam or freedoms they stand for. Faith or freedom; they must decide which. In jehad rights are irrelevant, just as jehad is unrelated to a fight for political freedoms; howsoever you may perceive them. For an Islamic jehad, ceasefire is a conspiracy. It is a deception. A chalbazi, too. But if rights are at stake it is an opportunity for resolving things. Why, an opportunity for achieving those rights.

Killing in the name of Islam the most heinous crime

By Dr Farida Khanam

In Islam, killing is unlawful in the absolute sense of the world. The only possible exception is the case of one who, having committed an unpardonable offense, provides the justification for his own life being forfeited. For murder, for example, Islam ordains the death penalty. But capital punishment being a matter for the State to enforce, it may be meted out only after the case has gone through the necessary legal procedures. No one can be so punished without first having been sentenced in a regular court of law.

Another instance of killing which may be condoned is that of an individual taking the life of another while defending himself against an unprovoked attack. No one is given the right to aggression by Islam, so that when any individual or group initiates such action, the other party has the right to self-defence, even if it means that the aggressor or aggressors may be killed in the process. This right to self-defence is enjoyed by the individual as well as the State. However, this option has to be exercised only when there is no other way out but to use force in self defence.

The following verse of the Quran underlines the seriousness of killing as a crime: "Whoever killed a human being, except as a punishment for murder or for sedition in the land, should be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind. And whoever saved a human life should be regarded as though he had saved all mankind." (5:32)

The armed struggle being carried out in present times at a number of places including Kashmir in the name of jihad is certainly far from jihad, in the true sense of the world. One of the many reasons for it not being a jihad is that in these campaigns more Muslims, are being killed than the supposed "enemies". Muslims' homes are being destroyed in its wake. They are compelled to leave their hearth and home to find shelter in foreign lands.

At all places this so-called violent struggle has proved counter productive. A large number of innocent people are being killed, their economy is being ruined. This verse of the Quran applies to the perpetrators of such violence in the name of jihad:

"And when he is in authority, he runs about in the land to spread mischief through the earth and destroys crops and progeny (of man); and Allah loves not mischief. (2:205).

Puting an innocent person to death amounts to a criminal breach of the system of this world as devised by God. The Almighty has sent human beings to this world so that they may be tested on the basis of their good and bad deeds, yet they are cruelly taken away from this life even before their period of trial has run its course. God will not pardon such an intervention. He admonishes potential miscreants thus: "Do not make mischief on the earth after it has been set in order." (7:56) Killers deserve to incur God's wrath and will not be able to escape His punishment in the Hereafter.

Another aspect of unjust killing is that the perpetrator commits the further crime spreading rot and corruption in society. This is strictly forbidden in the Quran, because it is an attempt to pervert the divine plan established by God in this world. Such an act is synonymous with a revolt against our Creator. That is why, in Islam, the penalty for it is capital punishment.

Furthermore, the harm killing does is not confined to the victim and his family. It affects the killer too. For such an abdominable act as unjustly snuffing out the life on an innocent person cannot be carried out without first stifling one's own conscience. That is, if the case of the murdered person is that of physical killing, the case of murderer is that of spiritual death. One who has killed his conscience, or spirituality, is worse than a wild animal. Such a person is a beast in human form, on matter how he may be garbed.

The act of killing is at its most horrific when innocent people sleeping in their homes are put to death without any provocation. Children, old people and women are virtually helpless in the face of attack. Killing people by catching them unawares is adding insult to injury. It is a double crime. It is cowardice coupled with crime.

Thus, according to the Quran, when someone kills another unjustly, he is not the slayer of just one human being but of all humanity. By his act, he breaks the law of the sanctity of human life, which applies to all human beings. Similarly, when one person saves another from the clutches of an attacker, he is not the saviour of one person alone, but of all humankind. In so doing, he upholds the principle that the lives of human beings are sacred. No one has the right to commit aggression against others.

According to the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom he peace, a believer is one with whom one can trust one's life and property. This is because Islam is a religion of peace. The Quran calls its way 'the paths of Peace' (5:16). It describes reconciliation as the best policy (4:128). It is clearly stated in the Quran that God adhors disturbance of the peace. God does not love fasad or violence. Fasad (Quran 2:205) results in disruption of the social system, causing huge losses in terms of lives and property.

Violent activities breed hatred in society, affecting all its members. The method of violence gives way to negative values. It embroils people in problems. They have no time to avail of the opportunities available to them in the given situation. One great harm done by opting for violent activism is the breaking of social traditions. The traditions of respect for one's fellow men have been built up through a long historical process. If these traditions are broken, then again a long period will be required to re-establish them in society. That is why according to the teachings of Islam those who introduce corruptions (fasad) as a way of life into society are its greatest enemies.