EDITORIAL
Hiding
in Hurriyat
The disclosures by
a terrorist of AI Badr outfit that he had hid in
the house of a former chief of Hurriyat
Conference to evade arrest while he recuperated
from wounds sustained in an encounter with
security forces and that the chief of his outfit
too had stayed in that house, have confirmed the
much denied but generally suspected nexus between
the terrorists and the separatists in the valley.
Indeed, but for a brief period when-on President
Musharraf's cue?-they tried to go against the
dictates of the terrorist outfits, the ‘true
representatives’ of the valley have never
firmly divorced themselves from the terrorists
there or outside. They have been one with the Pak
official line that these terrorists for all their
acts of terrorism are ‘freedom
fighters’, that despite being Multanis,
Sudanese, Turanis and Afghanis they are
‘indigenous crusaders’ and that inspite
of their open and declared fundamentalist agenda
they are struggling for the ‘freedom’
of Kashmiris.
There was the
recent spectacle of former Hurriyat chief coming
out in open support of the madrassas, especially
their other curricula and teachings who
condemning the efforts of the Government to curb
these activities as a denial of the freedom. It
may be hard to tell what freedom does an act,
which is milder than the one instituted by the
Islamic Government of Pakistan in respect of the
same madrassas, deny what injustices it piles on
one community? But then, logic has not been the
master here. It is only a slave sent on
justifying errands not used to understand issues
and form reasonable opinions upon them. The same
leader in a series of interviews with BBC last
fall harped on the Musharafian invention of the
‘distinction between terrorists and freedom
fighters’ even though he accepted that the
terrorists targeting WTC were no different from
those killing people in the valley, attacking the
State legislature or the national Parliament.
And, of course, the Hurriyat was in the lead
organizing a hartal in the Valley when the
accused in the Parliament attack were sentenced.
Now this is a
dichotomy that complicates matters for those who
are trying to dispassionately understand the
situation of Kashmir. Many sincere people are
misled by the democracy-friendly statements and
assertions of the so-called ‘fighters’
unless they are told of the sloppy side of the
business. Thus every protest against the security
forces is seen as a genuine expression of anger
when in most of the cases it is in compliance to
the dictates of the terrorists who hold sway in
there. The other allegations of atrocities even
rapes pass into the liberals’ statistic-book
when they are similarly organized and got uttered
under force by the same terrorist elements. It is
said that most of the officials, especially in
the outskirts, live in an open compromise with
the trigger-happy terrorists, that the members of
the Government too are not ready to anger these
horrendous elements. That is a compulsion of the
situation in a terrorist infested area. The
constraints of these people even officials are
understandable, but the same can’t be used
to argue sinister cases. Thus one may even
understand the compulsion of the Hurriyat leaders
giving shelter to terrorists, but aren’t
other compulsions more important. Isn’t a
clean breast of all nexuses, all connections with
the ultras an imperative of a truthful
leadership? And, aren't these people who are
actually under the thumb of the terrorist forcing
the innocent succor-less people into the clutches
of perverted power-centers.
English
medium
A spate of letters
published in the reader’s column of this
paper and others too, since the announcement of
the Government that English would be the medium
of instruction in the Government schools shows
how welcome the decision of the Government has
been. The burnt of the arguments is that this
gives the not-so-well- off children an
opportunity to stand on an equal footing with the
wards of the well-to-do people who alone had
access to this ‘better education’ so
far. And it is largely true. Like its other
counterparts this State too has been giving
practical preference-probably, thoughtlessly,
possibly because of the actual need of the time
and exigencies-to the products of the English
medium schools. These students have been having a
run of the job markets in both private and
Government sectors, while the lower rungs
especially the ones from the countryside have
been losing in this tough competition. Because
this state did not thurst many of the
region’s languages upon the students as some
other states of the union did, the effects have
been a bit less harmful.
The preference
given to the non-State Urdu here has proved a
blessing of sorts as it did not handicap the
students much and they did get a smattering of
the link language instead of being caught in the
mother tongue. Thus it was that the mother tongue
supporting States like, Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab
realized the ‘harm’ earlier and
introduced English a little earlier. But as they
say it is always better late than never to begin
a god thing. One does, however, wonder whatever
happened to those loud arguments of the
vernacular being the best medium and the most
suited way for learning, instruction, personality
development etc. etc. Even as the Government
schools shift away from the vernaculars, as the
private ones had done decades ago, the arguments
of the vernacular superiority are still being
proffered. They certainly are superior so long as
the linguistic transactions are small and
limited. That is why the vehement protagonists of
the deshi bhashas, rajya bhashas etc. never
allowed their wards to go there, but always
prescribed it as the best thing for
‘others’! Critics would say they did it
to maintain their superiority over the common
masses. It may have been misguided enthusiasm,
though that does not explain why that enthusiasm
did not enter their very homes. In any case it
seems that the people are vastly happy with the
change, realistic change one may say. Could we
have some of that old strictness and efficiency,
too, returned to these schools?
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Vohra
& Kashmiri's future options
By Maj
Gen V K Madhok (Retd)
After
Pant's & Jethmalani's failure,
Vohra's appointment begs many questions?
Is it really necessary to appoint another
emissary with a secret mission (as brief
not disclosed) to negotiate with elected
representatives and separatists? Or here
is yet another ploy to gain time by
deferring crucial decisions after the
national elections? More important is Mr
Vohra 'gutsy' enough to put across
forthright proposals? Or he will stick to
those suggested by his political masters?
India
continues to battle for retaining Kashmir
after 56 years of J&K's accession.
While a twelve year old proxy war
continues to rage and in spite of the
army becoming fully deployed now at the
LoC, the situation grows grimmer and
unyielding. The arms and ammunition
seized from the militants since 1989 is
enough to equip three army divisions.
While the Indo-Pak bilateral talks remain
bogged down as Indian Prime Minister
refuses to have any truck with Pakistan
unless it stops cross-border terrorism
& chastises fundamentalist outfits.
What are
the reasons for India's failure. Can it
succeed or the problems will be
conveniently handed over to the next
generation? If not, what could be the
likely future scenario are important
issues for reflection.
There is a
view that India has failed in Kashmir due
to three reasons: absence of vision and a
clear policy on J&K. The most
important point for which is whether
India wants back PoK or to convert the
LoC into an international border!
Secondly, lack of governance and thus
credibility. And finally, lack of
political will to deal with Pakistan or
to stop the proxy wars.
At the
ground level the causes for failure to
resolve the J&K issue are: poor
administration, an unresponsive
bureaucracy, corruption, unemployment,
rigging of elections in the past, non
involvement of the people in governance
and absence of accountability at the
national level. These lapses have in turn
led to a feeling amongst the people, that
they are being ruled from air-conditoned
offices in North and South Blocks in New
Delhi. Consequently, an alienation of the
worst kind has taken place against the
Government. It was only last year that
some sense seems to have dawned with the
creation of Provincial Advisory Councils
in Jammu and similar bodies at the
village level, the people are being
involved; a step which should have taken
at least twenty years ago.
Ex CM
Farooq Abdullah left the governance and
economy in a mess. Income tax returns
were not filed either by the population
or the officials for the last eight
years. There was no money to go around
for pensions or new projects last year.
During 1998-99 the State was in debt to
the tune of nearly 7700. In spite of this
financial crunch, nearly 90 lakhs were
spent to renovate the State guest houses
and one lakh or so additional Government
employees recruited.
Pakistan
is interested in the Muslim majority
areas of Kashmir, Rajouri, Poonch and
Doda and not necessarily the entire
State. Pakistan's deeper motivation is of
course to avenge its break up in 1971.
Kashmir would compensate for Bangladesh.
At the international level Kashmir has
acquired the status of a region which has
become vital for maintaining balance of
power in South Asia and South East Asia.
Therefore, along with intractable stances
adopted both by New Delhi and Islamabad,
the Kashmir issue will remain with India
for a long time because the nation lacks
the will to resolve it. While the
outsiders are waiting to step in as
mediators or facilitators.
Pakistan
continues to insist that J&K must
have a plebiscite in accordance with UN
resolutions. But this is no longer
workable. To implement these, Pakistan's
armed forces will have to withdraw first
and Pakistani's Army will never accept
that.
A factor
which has made the situation extremely
complex is by the entry of outside
players. US outsiders that J&K is a
disputed territory. Although of
ostensibly it does not seek a voluntary
mediatory role it would be ready to act
as a facilitator if both sides want it.
This suits Pakistan and the All Party
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) of Kashmir who
have been demanding international
mediation. Besides, China has been arming
Pakistan and has helped it to establish a
massive defence industrial complex during
the last three decades.
India's
stand that the entire State of J&K
belong to it and the only pending issue
which needs to be resolved is the
reunification of PoK needs no alteration
or elaboration. But his stand remains a
rhetoric as no diplomatic or military
initiatives are being taken to implement
it.
A clear
message must go to Pakistan, that India
means business. That, country's
sovereighty over PoK will not be
compromised. From now onwards, there will
be severe counteraction to proxy war. Our
politicians must start talking of PoK,
its reunification and all those who talk
of converting the LoC into a permanent
international border should be considered
as traitors. That, in sum should be
India's policy.
But before
that, our own house needs to be put in
order. The Kashmir problem must become
the focus of national agenda. There is a
compelling need to bring stability with
good governance. Jobs need to be found
for millions of unemployed Kashmiri
youth. The Central Government would do
well to constitute a special task force
which is dedicated full time to J&K.
Besides, there is an urgent need to
bridge the suspicions and mistrust that
have developed between different regions
and groups. Finally, the Kashmiri Pundits
who left Kashmir need to be brought back.
Note, that
the Americans are developing Pakistan
into a client State and will not let any
military adventure take place across the
LoC. Finally, if India is not prepared to
tackle PoK by force (as a last resort)
Pakistan would prepare to take
Kashmir-possibly with china's help in
another few years, the first signs of
which were seen in Dras, Kargil and
Batalik. Alternately, the CIA and ISI
will ensure that India and Pakistan get
involved and remain enmeshed in a brutal
direct confrontation thus opening the
doors for the US or NATO to step in and
then mediate to restore peace in J&K.
Obviously,
Mr Vohra does not have a magic want to
solve the above issues — however
efficient he may be! The problem can only
be resolved if the Governments of India
and Pakistan alongwith important elected
and separatist leaders from both sides of
the border sit together in India or in a
third country as Sri Lanka is doing, to
thrash out issues even if it takes ten
years.
Alternatively,
we will see Mr Arun Jaitley and then Arun
Shourie following Vohra by which time the
elections will be due.
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Reviving
Gandhian legacy to fight communalism
By Kedar
Nath Pandey
Is there
any ideology left to fight communalism?
This is no longer an academic question.
This has become a question of life and
death as our collective sanity depends on
our ability to combat communalism.
Communalism
is ugly and destructive. It resists the
expansion of one’s mind and
limits’s one’s possibilities.
Communalism does not have any notion of
understanding other cultures and
traditions. Its only motto is destruction
and annihilation.
Moreover,
communalism is often endowed with a
"moral" meaning. It provides a
"cause"–fight for the
community, preserve its identity. It
provides a "meaning" for
existence – life is worth living
because one is living for one’s
community, a community destined to
achieve its mission.
Fighting
communalism, therefore, means one must
overcome any blind fixation to a narrowly
defined culture or religion. A defined
boundary is suffocating. Freedom lies in
challenging the "naturalness"
of this boundary; it amounts to realising
one’s autonomy.
Fighting
communalism also involves finding a new
meaning for existence. One must lead
one’s life not for a narrowly
defined community but for the wider
humanity. Such an endeavour requires both
freedom and commitment.
Even in a
society such as India’s know for its
collective identities of caste, kinship
and religion, individualism is asserting
itself. Individualism has often been seen
as a primary component of modernisation.
The idea of the "sovereign
individual" was closely linked to
the Enlightenment’s vision of
modernity.
However,
even the Nehruvian ideal – whose
affinity with the perceptions of the
Enlightenment was not diffcult to
establish – did not promote the idea
of an abstract, self-seeking,
decontextualised individual. It kept its
socialist dream alive and was yet not
insensitive to cultural traditions.
In
today’s India, as the International
Monetary Fund-World Bank model of
modernisation gains legitimacy,
individualism is becoming an official
ideology, a force to reckon with. Whether
individualism can effectively battle
communalism is a moot question.
Individualism
has its appeal; if communalism denies the
autonomy of the individual, individualism
reaffirms it. Individualism may well be
seen as a protest against all sorts of
authority – whether communal,
traditional or religious. At a time when
tradition is strengthening itself and
demanding blind loyalty, individualism
presents a refreshing contrast.
Even so,
individualism, is not as liberating as it
seems. There are two reasons for this.
First, individualism often degenerates
into selfishness. It rescues man from the
clutches of the community but does not
necessarily commit him to an affirmative
task involving the larger humanity.
Hence, for
individualism, freedom is merely the
freedom from attachment and does not
amount to a freedom to dedicate oneself
to a cause that transcends the
individual. Thus, like communalism,
individualism too limits one’s
possibilities.
Second, it
is such individualism that,
paradoxically, breeds communalism.
Historically speaking, extreme
individualism has always led to a
counter-ideology demanding the
restoration of the "community".
Not
surprisingly, in post-revolutionary
France, Auguste Comte, the founding
father of sociology, condemned
individualism as the "disease of the
Western civilisation". Comte called
for the restoration of the "moral
community". In other words,
revivalism is linked to modernity –
they reinforce each other.
This is
why Indian communalists always condemn
"secular-Western".
Individualism. Individualism is derided
as "immoral" and to fight this
"immorality" is to embrace the
community, its culture, its symbols and
its religion. The ultimate defeat of
individualism is in its failure to fulfil
man’s urge to find a power superior
to him.
Communalism
to individualism and then back to
communalism, it is becoming difficult to
fight this vicious circle. One reason for
this is to be found in the ideological
void of the day. The gradual
disillusionment with Marxism is a
principal cause of this void.
Although
Marxism was never a dominant current in
mainstream Indian political thought, it
acted as a conscience and a source of
inspiration. It was impossible to remain
indifferent to Marxism.
Marxism
waged a great war against traditional and
religious authority. It propagated
science and reason and was not hostile to
modernity. Yet, never did Marxism glorify
the ideal of a self-seeking, discrete
individual.
Marxism
was a commitment to a new community,
which it was hoped, would transcend
alienation and fragmentation, a community
characterised by the "positive
transcendence of private property".
In other words, Marxism was not just a
negations; it was an affirmation.
Marxism
reconciled rebellion and commitment,
reason and morality. It was almost a
secular religion. For a Marxist, life
acquired a meaning beyond the individual.
Emancipatory
Marxism was ruthlessly annihilated by its
Stalinist reification. With the collapse
of even the minimal socialist ideals
there is utter disillusionment. True,
some sort of Marxism still prevails in
India but its immediate retreat from
global politics has caused widespread
confusion and despair.
As Marxism
is fast becoming a historical memory, the
proponents of individualism find
sufficient reason to celebrate their
victory. Thus, the question of relevance
today is: do we have a counter-ideology
to resist the communalism-individualism
nexus?
Like
Marxism, Gandhism too has been reduced to
a historical memory. Gandhism was an
attempt to rescue man from narrowness.
Like Marxism it demanded wider concern,
moral responsibility and commitment to
humanity.
Even when
one could see religiosity in Gandhism,
what was remarkable about it was the way
it radicalised religion and modernised
tradition. Mahatma Gandhi employed such
principles in his life as well. With all
his "experiments", Gandhi
wanted to prove man was gifted with an
autonomy which no scripture, no
tradition, no text could deny.
Gandhism
had a greater appeal in Indian society
than Marxism. It was rooted in our
cultural milieu; its discourse was nearer
to our language. Yet, independent India
has seen a weakening of Gandhism as an
ideology and a force.
This is
because of this country’s obsession
with "practical" politics. It
is ironic only 55-years after his
assassination, Gandhi is a looked upon as
a distant figure, one not compatible with
the realities of modern India.
Communalism,
individualism and their dangerous
partnership can only be thwarted by a
revival of Marxism and Gandhism. Is such
a revival possible? This is a question no
secular individual can ignore. INAV
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Return
of the natives
By K K
Khosa
The two
recent statements made by the
Hon’ble Chief Minister in connection
with the proposed plans of the State
Govt. to make arrangements for the
resettlement of displaced Kashmiri
Pandits in the Valley initially at two
pilgrimage centers are indicative of the
fact that either this present Government
is naive or its intentions in this regard
are not sincere.
The first
statement regarding providing Government
jobs to those members of the community
who choose to go back to the Valley and
the second one stating that all those
people especially the urbanites who have
sold off their properties during the last
14 years of exile do not wish to return
have to be read between the lines.
The clear
inference one can draw from the first
statement is that the Government wants to
absolve itself completely of the
responsibility of providing the Kashmiri
Pandits of their share of Government
employment in case they continue to
remain here in Jammu. The other statement
betrays the mindset of the Government as
one of insincerity since it is refusing
to appreciate the fact that all these
sales were made under compulsion in order
to keep their body and soul together and
to provide them with reasonable resources
to live decently in exile.
For a
person who has been Home Minister of
India and now occupies the Chief
Minister’s chair it should not be
difficult to comprehend that trying to
entice small groups of people to the
Valley by making misleading overtures is
nothing more than putting the cart before
the horse. Before launching on any such
ambitious plans it would be advisable to
have detailed discussions with the Pandit
leaders and simultaneously promote people
to people contact at the grassroots
level. Moreover trying to rope in
extremist groups to stand guarantee for
the safety of the people who would return
would be a very prudent thing to do in
the prevailing circumstances.
In dealing
with this sensitive issue of the return
of Kashmiri Pandits with dignity and
honor two things should not be forgotten.
One that pandits are a self respecting
community who did not take any time in
sacrificing their homes and hearths when
their honor and lives came under threat
from the ultras in 1990 and the second
that each and every member of the
community irrespective of the fact
whether they were forced to move out in
1990 or whether they have been out of
Kashmir even for decades for whatever
reasons prior to 1990 yearn to go back
and have a permanent abode in the land of
their forefathers with which they are
emotionally attached and where they can
trace their roots to more than 5000 years.
The powers that be should also know
that the community shall return to the
valley one day to the land of their
forefathers but only on their own terms
and perhaps that time is not too far.
The
juggernaut of Kashmiri Pundit resurgence
is waiting to reach its zenith and then
wreck vengeance on those who have
perpetrated this crime against the
hapless community.
Let us not
forget that the average Kashmiri Hindu as
well as Muslim is a peace loving docile
person for whom coexistence has been a
way of life for centuries. Is it also not
a fact that the reign of Zain Ul Abidin
followed the rule of Butshikan
immediately during the 15th century? So
where is the question of giving up hope.
The only
thing to be kept in mind is that a lot of
preparation has to go into evolving the
modalities to be followed in view of the
greater domination of the fundamentalist
forces due to their acquisition of modern
weapons in this 21st century. The
perpetrators of this crime against
humanity shall have to be brought to
justice for which a concerted effort
shall have to be made by the common
Kashmiri belonging to both the
communities.
The role
of the Govt. could come in handy in
promoting such an exercise by way of
facilitating people to people contact at
the grassroots level so that common
ground could be reached before a roadmap
could be made subsequently. By resorting
to adhoc measures without working out
detailed plans, a grave risk is being
taken which may prove counter productive
and further complicates matters.
If such
sensitive issues could be resolved by a
couple of bureaucrats alone then a
solution would have been thrashed out
years back when the kaul committee had
been appointed. Let us learn from the
past and not repeat those mistakes. Since
no one knows what the future beholds
therefore let no ill-conceived steps be
taken in haste, which may have to be
regretted later. As it is, heavens are
not going to fall in case a more
elaborate methodology is adopted.
A Govt.
which has been placed in power after a
truly free and fair election has to onus
to conduct itself in a very matured and
seasoned manner since the present
scenario that has emerged is quite
encouraging and all concerned should grab
this opportunity of putting this house in
order so that we could hand over a velly
of peace and transquility to our progeny
where once again the age old culture of
Kashmiriat starts boolming in full glory,
instead of a place where the lords of
death and destruction reign supreme
holding the entire population to ransom,
hurtling it down the deep gorges to
certain doom.
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Hindi
songs laced with Punjabi words
By A C Tuli
In recent years,
many Hindi film songs laced with a few Punjabi
words have been the craze of music buffs. Infact,
every other film song that one hears now-a-days
has the Punjabi words 'kudi' and 'munda' in it.
Some times the refrain of a song is almost
entirely composed of Punjabi words. Most of these
songs, 'Tere pyar da ras nahin chakhna oi
makhna', 'Toon soni kudi, jadoo ki pudi', 'Khali
dil nayeen jaan vee ae mangda, et al have proved
chartbusters that raked in megabucks for
film-makers as well as music companies which
marketed the cassettes of these popular songs.
And the trend is still going full steam.
Is our
film-makers' penchant for spicing Hindi film
songs with a sprinkling of a few Punjabi words of
recent origin? The fact is that this phenomenon
is very old. If we go back to briefly survey the
film music scene over the past six decades, we
will find that song writers, of course not all of
them hailing from Punjab, have always enjoyed
enhancing the appeal of their songs, particularly
comic songs by using Punjabi words in them.
The earliest Hindi
film song that became tremendously popular
because of a few Punjabi words in it was from
film 'Ek Thi Ladki' (1949). It was of course a
humorous song sung by Lata Mangeshkar, G.M.
Durrani and chorus. The song, 'Lara lappa, lara
lappa lai rakh da, addi tappa addi tappa lai rakh
da....'became so popular that the actress Meena
Shorey on whom it was picturised later came to be
know as "Lara lappa girl.'
Interestingly, in
those days only Punjabis could understand what
meaning these words conveyed. So the film
director Roop K Shorey was shrewd enough to have
these words explained, in the film itself,
through the heroine, a strapping lass. "What
do the words 'lara lappa' and addi tappa' mean?
"asks Moti Lal, the hero of Ek Thi Ladki.
With a naughty glint in her eyes, the heroine
replies, "Lara/lappa', means false and
evasive and "addi tappa' means picking
quarrels for no reason."
Film lyricists
hailing from Punjab --- Rajinder Krishan, P. L.
Santoshi, Qamar Jalalabadi, Prem Dhawan, Sahir
Ludhianvi, Naksh Layallpuri, Gulshan Bawra, Anand
Bakshi, Inderjit Singh Tulsi, Dev Kohli and
others have written hundreds of Hindi songs for
films.
But when the
situations in a film so demanded, they put a few
Punjabi words in their songs to give them a
distinctive flavour. A few songs that readily
come to mind are, "Nee mein yaar manana nee
chahe log boliyan bole', 'Char dina pyar o rabba
badi lambi judai", Tera munda bigda jai, O
bebe tera munda", "As pappian japhian
pa layeena," et al.
Even song-writers
whose mainline occupation was to pen serious
ghazals and sad love songs for films enjoyed
dashing off light, comic songs with few Punjabi
words thrown in. For instance, Rajinder Krishan,
who was well known for his soul stirring lyrics
in 'Anarkali', 'Adalat', 'Jahanara' and many
other films, could also write comic songs with
equal felicity.
In the Biswajit -
Rajshri starrer 'Shehnai', there was one such
along written by him which bubbles with typical
Punjabi effervescence. The song, 'Oi Papey no
sharma, koi garmi-sharmi Kha, aaj khushi ka din
hai pyare juphee - waphee pa....'was hilarious.
Punjabi words such
as 'kudi', 'munda', 'puttar', 'piyo', pind',
'bebe', mutiar', 'Praji, 'beeba', et al are now
quite well-known. Even non-Punjabis understand
these words when they occur in a Hindi film song.
Sometimes a song
is so well composed that, irrespective of the
language in which it is written, it fascinates
the listeners with its haunting tune. The songs
of Gulzar's widely-acclaimed film 'Machis' are
mostly based on Punjabi folk tunes. Besides,
these songs have a number of Punjabi words in
them. But the popularity of these songs has
transcended the barriers of language.
Interestingly, most of these songs have been sung
by non-Punjabi playback singers without any flay
in pronouncing the Punjabi words.
One of the reasons
why Punjabi words in Hindi film songs have gone
down well with the listeners is that there is a
close affinity between Punjabi and Hindi.
Besides, in recent years Punjabi pop songs have
been the teenyboppers' favourite music. Old folk
songs of Punjab set to loud and fast-paced modern
pop tunes are liked by the young whether they are
living in' Ludhiana or Lucknow, Hoshiarpur or
Hyderabad. They love jigging and swaying to their
beat and rhythm.
It also proves
that music has no set language. It is basically
the human feelings, sentiments and emotions that
these song express that send a thrill down young
spines. And human feelings, emotions and
sentiments are universally the same.
PTI Feature
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