Many Kashmir watchers are mystified why Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat is not taking recourse to pragmatism in playing Kashmir politics. His is generally called the moderate faction as against the hard-line Geelani faction. If it is really “moderate” one may say it is better done than said. It needs to demonstrate that it has the potential of making independent and objective assessment of changing contours of Kashmir politics. Hurriyat (M) politics has been in sync with Pakistan’s Kashmir policy ever since Hurriyat came into existence in 1992. In between, so many things of international importance and consequences happened that have had tremendous bearing on Kashmir situation. There was a time when the US almost joined her voice with that of Pakistan on Kashmir. There was a time when international community found meaning in what Pakistan presented about Kashmir. The Hurriyat, in true spirit of Kashmirian characteristics, thought it a welcome step for a big country like the US to fight for her the “war of independence”. Hurriyatis were optimistic that they had successfully moulded world opinion. That is what its managers like Ghulam Nabi Fai and others of his ilk in London and Brussels had made it believe. But the big incident of 9/11 and its subsequent fallout on global level blew the siren of danger for the jihadi terrorist movement all over the world including Kashmir. The fact of the matter is that APHC never felt really comfortable with its stand in the aftermath of 9/11. General Pervez Musharraf declared Pakistan on the side of the US in war on terrorism. This punctured Hurriyat’s balloon. More sensible and less emotional elements in Hurriyat (M) could read the writing on the wall. Yet in a bid of willing suspension of disbelief, less moderates in the group continued to toy with the idea of gun playing the decisive role. That did not happen because war on terror sucked Pakistan deep into the vortex of destabilization and internal turmoil. Pakistan served her national interests in joining hands with the Americans against the jihadis. Obviously for her, Kashmir had to be abandoned to back burner. Additionally, there followed Musharraf’s antics about peaceful solution of Kashmir tangle through five-region module. Part of this module was rejection of UN Security Council Resolutions of 1948 and 1949. Ali Shah Geelani spat venom against Musharraf indicating the frustration that had seized the Hurriyat (both factions).
A close analysis of the statements and assertions of the Mirwaiz about various aspects of Kashmir issue after 9/11 will show inconsistency and changeability if not contradiction. As the TTP accelerated its anti-government activities and the Pakistan Army, for reasons of its own, embarked on a barrage of artillery fire on the strongholds of these jihadis in Waziristan region, Hurriyat recognized moral and tactical set back to the movement. Pakistani rulers clearly told Mirwaiz that they had to mollify India in order to ensure that Pakistan’s eastern frontier touching on India remained peaceful. When India conveyed through Americans her preparedness to dispel the fears of Pakistan, Islamabad withdrew several brigades from her eastern border to be re-deployed in fight against the TTP. Mirwaiz thought it prudent to soften his anti-India belligerency and began to talk more of economic and developmental issues about Kashmir.
The question is not whether yes or not Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat, a veteran leader of the Hurriyat (M), has turned spoilsport. It is a question of understanding the ground situation in realistic manner and reacting to it as circumstances demand. Not only Prof. Bhat, even another stalwart of the Hurriyat and former President Maulana Abbas Ansari, the Shia leader, was the first to openly ventilate his differences of opinion on certain issues and the Hurriyat sidelined him. Political pundits had smelt rat and knew that the Hurriyat was heading towards a crisis of conviction. Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat has mustered courage and being faithful to his conscience, has said what he thinks should be said. Interestingly he cast aspersions on the validity of UN Resolutions in a public rally in his hometown Boteung, not far from Sopore, the hot-bed of Kashmir militancy, and more importantly, the hometown of hardliner Ali Shah Geelani. Sopore, at one time, has also been a bastion of Congress when veteran leader Ghulam Rasool Kar was the MLA from Sopore Congress and also a minister. No less fervent Congressite was the clan of Prof. Abdul Ghani. Had Congress been pragmatist and gifted with rare far sight, it would never have left Prof. a lumpen for quite some time before he took a decision of his own. Will his voice be heard by those who are dazed by Pakistan’s unsolicited advice? With Prof. Bhat’s pragmatist vision and re-think, the Hurriyat stands to gain much and lose very little, rather nothing.
Bhat’s pragmatism
More railway coaches
We have said it earlier that rail connectivity now underway, will change the life and economy of the valley. It is only a matter of time. Out of 32 more specially designed rail coaches built by integrated coach factory in Chennai for Kashmir railways, four have reached Udhampur station, 12 are parked at Jallandhar station and the remaining are still in the coach factory. Addition of 32 rail coaches has been necessitated by the great rush of passengers that valley railway is facing at the moment. This means an expensive step of Indian Railways is gaining popularity in the valley. How phenomenally it will affect the economy and life style of the people of a landlocked valley, is perhaps sill beyond the comprehension of an ordinary Kashmiri. By the end of this year, Qazigund will be connected with Banihal, a very crucial strip in the entire railway project for Kashmir. But it has to be reminded that this is only the beginning of a far bigger project. Connecting Poonch-Rajouri with Jammu and Leh-Kargil with Srinagar through railway line is now a plan on the table. Concerned quarters at the Rail Bhavan are seized of full rail expansion in the valley. And when relations with Pakistan are normalized, a phenomenon which is being built on both sides, a new dimension will be added to Kashmir rail project. It could become the great terminus of a vast railway network crisscrossing the forbidding Pamirs, the Hindukush and the Badakhshan,
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Chinese firm with Filipino links feel heat amid stand-off
BEIJING, May 15: As the China-Philippines stand-off over the disputed island in South China Sea flared up, a Chinese supermarket chain has rushed to deny any links with Manila to stave off public boycott.
Beatrice denied its overseas connections amid angry calls for a boycott after its former owner from the Philippines was found to have led recent anti-China protests over the island called Huangyan by China and Pagatag shoal by Philippines.
A call for a boycott posted at Sina Weibo, China’s most popular tweeting service, was forwarded 79,000 times as of Tuesday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The number of tweets related to “Beatrice”—the name of the supermarket—at Sina Weibo has grown to 400,000.
“While earning big money in China, the boss of Beatrice Group was organising anti-China protests worldwide. Everybody should see through her and join the boycott,” a microblog posting said.
Li Feng, deputy general manager at Xiamen Beatrice Chain Stores Co, Ltd quickly denied any links saying that the company is now fully Chinese-owned and no longer maintains relations with Lewis.
Lewis was chair of the board of Xiamen Beatrice Chain Stores Co, Ltd from June 2005 to December 2009.
It was later sold out to local Chinese. Its current owners Shi Qi and Chen Shuiqing do not know Lewis, Li said.
After the stand-off which is now into the second month the owners admitted that the company’s turnover has dropped by nearly 10 percent. Beatrice now runs 38 convenience stores and employs 200 workers in Xiamen.
A saleswoman at one of the stores said she had received angry phone calls and been asked to quit.
A number of Philippine businesses, ranging from real estate and clothing to airlines and snack food brands, are currently operating in China.
Many of them are located in Fujian, the ancestral home of most of the Philippines’ ethnic Chinese population.
Besides putting out a travel advisory resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of Chinese tourists to Philippines, China also said those tourists who are already there will return by May 16.
China also ordered strict quarantine checks on banana imports from Philippines restricting the flow. (PTI)
Almost 1 in 3 in US have sleepwalked – study
UNDATED, May 15: Close to one in three people in the United States may sleepwalk during their lives, according to a U.S. Study that said severe depression and other sleep disorders may increase the possibility.
A survey of 16,000 adults in 15 states found about 29 percent said they had sleepwalked at least once in their lives, close to three percent did it between once a year and once a month, and one percent sleepwalked at least twice per month.
“We did not know what was the prevalence of sleepwalking – as a disorder – in the general population, and that was a big problem,” said Maurice Ohayon, director of the Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center in California, who led the study, which appeared in the journal Neurology.
Past research on sleepwalking was mostly based on studies conducted in a lab, but Ohayon said he wanted to know what was actually happening in peoples’ homes.
The survey asked participants about their lifestyle and sleeping habits, overall health and whether they had any sleep, mental or other types of disorders, including sleepwalking.
It found that certain people were more likely to sleepwalk, including those with sleep apnea or insomnia, heavy drinkers and people taking sleeping pills.
Participants on antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors seemed to have a higher risk for sleepwalking, but the researchers said this could be explained by the conditions those drugs treat. Both major depression and OCD were also linked to sleepwalking.
Ohayon’s team reported that close to one-third of sleepwalkers said they had a family history of sleepwalking .
“I’m not too surprised by the results,” said Timothy Young, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with the Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Young, who was not involved in the research, said that sleepwalking is thought to be common during childhood, but tapers off as people get older. Past studies have shown that 30 percent of children may be sleepwalkers, the researchers wrote.
According to Young, sleepwalking covers a spectrum of actions from sleep talking to getting out of bed. He told Reuters Health it becomes a problem when people start walking down stairs or outside.
The study was partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of health, the Arrillaga Foundation, the Bing Foundation and Neurocrines Biosciences, which is a biopharmaceutical company.
(agencies)
Almost 1 in 3 in US have sleepwalked – study
UNDATED, May 15: Close to one in three people in the United States may sleepwalk during their lives, according to a U.S. Study that said severe depression and other sleep disorders may increase the possibility.
A survey of 16,000 adults in 15 states found about 29 percent said they had sleepwalked at least once in their lives, close to three percent did it between once a year and once a month, and one percent sleepwalked at least twice per month.
“We did not know what was the prevalence of sleepwalking – as a disorder – in the general population, and that was a big problem,” said Maurice Ohayon, director of the Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center in California, who led the study, which appeared in the journal Neurology.
Past research on sleepwalking was mostly based on studies conducted in a lab, but Ohayon said he wanted to know what was actually happening in peoples’ homes.
The survey asked participants about their lifestyle and sleeping habits, overall health and whether they had any sleep, mental or other types of disorders, including sleepwalking.
It found that certain people were more likely to sleepwalk, including those with sleep apnea or insomnia, heavy drinkers and people taking sleeping pills.
Participants on antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors seemed to have a higher risk for sleepwalking, but the researchers said this could be explained by the conditions those drugs treat. Both major depression and OCD were also linked to sleepwalking.
Ohayon’s team reported that close to one-third of sleepwalkers said they had a family history of sleepwalking .
“I’m not too surprised by the results,” said Timothy Young, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with the Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Young, who was not involved in the research, said that sleepwalking is thought to be common during childhood, but tapers off as people get older. Past studies have shown that 30 percent of children may be sleepwalkers, the researchers wrote.
According to Young, sleepwalking covers a spectrum of actions from sleep talking to getting out of bed. He told Reuters Health it becomes a problem when people start walking down stairs or outside.
The study was partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of health, the Arrillaga Foundation, the Bing Foundation and Neurocrines Biosciences, which is a biopharmaceutical company.
(agencies)
Pitroda to give commencement address at NYU engineering school
NEW YORK, May 15: Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sam Pitroda will deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of 2012 at New York University’s prestigious engineering and technology school this week where he will also be conferred with an honorary degree.
The Polytechnic Institute of New York University, also known as NYU-Poly, lauded “wireless pioneer” Pitroda’s achievements in addressing the infrastructure and technology challenges in India, particularly his efforts in making telecom accessible to the country’s 1.2 billion people.
Pitroda, who currently serves as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information and Infrastructure and Innovations and is the Chairman of the National Innovation Council, will address about 1000 undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty members at the commencement ceremony to be held at NYU-Poly’s campus here on May 18.
“The Polytechnic Institute of NYU is pleased to be welcoming Sam Pitroda, largely known as the ‘father of telecommunications of India’ as this year’s honorary degree recipient and Commencement keynote speaker because of his lifelong accomplishments and achievements,” NYU-Poly President Jerry Hultin said in a statement today.
“These achievements are not only as a technologist and entrepreneur who holds over 100 patents, but also through his contributions as a leader and advocate whether in education or economic innovation, in partnership with the government of India,” Hultin said.
Founded in 1854, NYU-Poly is among America’s most prestigious and oldest private schools specialising in engineering, applied sciences, technology and research.
Last month a New York University and NYU-Poly led consortium of world class institutions, including IIT Mumbai, was selected to set up an applied sciences campus in Brooklyn.
Describing Pitroda as one of the “pioneers” of India’s wireless industry, NYU-Poly, a hotbed for wireless research, said its association with him for this year’s graduation ceremony is “serendipitous”.
“Pitroda is the embodiment of our principles of ‘i²e’ (invention, innovation and entrepreneurship) as evidenced by his educational attainment, his successful ventures and enterprises, and his innovative approach to presenting solutions to seemingly intractable and large-scale issues in the equitable development of India’s citizens in the world’s largest democracy,” Hultin added.
Pitroda also heads the Expert Committee on the use of ICT in railways and is the Chairman of the Smart Grid Task Force set up under the aegis of India’s Ministry of Power.
He has recently been appointed the founding Commissioner of the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development. (PTI)