Dear Indians,

If Kashmir is an integral part of India, how come only 45% of J&K State is under India. What has Govt of India done to rgain the other 55% of J&K? Nothing..Cause if they start doing anything, it will have to leave this 45% as well. It is like if you find two notes of Rs500
on the road and you pick up one note.When you were about to pikc up the other note, someone already picked up. Now you are happy with the one note cause you got it illegaly.Similarly,India did not do anything to regain the other half. That is because it knows if it tries any action,either polotical or millatry,there will be question mark on its claim over Kashmir. How many people in India know that United Nations Military Observers have a big office in the heart of Srinagar.They are not in Mumbai,bangalore, Delhi, Bihar. You have educate your country men that Kashmir is a disputed territory. I am not opposing any Kashmiri or Dogra be hold the opinion that Kashmir SHOULD be a part of India. But let us excercise this right of choice. If India has taken right measure to win the hearts and minds of Kashmiris for the last 60 yrs, probably the chances are that India will get full control of 100% Kashmir as opposed to current 45%.(Keep in mind,arrest of Sheikh Abdullah in 1953,installation of puppet Govt in Kashmir, replacement of Prime Ministership to chief Ministership in 1964,Unilateral decission of dilution of Article 370,military rule, more than 100 thousands innocents deaths by Indian forces (My three cousins included),rapes,custodial deaths,economic degradation,infrastructure, NO POWER, Indus water treaty, only to name a few)… Ajaz Kahsmiri… ajaztam@hotmail.com

Dear Sir,

It is sad that such biased articles ever get into prominence. Myra and Pankaj make no mention of half million Kashmiri Hindus who were ethnically cleansed and living in sub-human homes for 18 years. Have they ever visited those camps and knew what it is like living there, driven out of your home and raising generations of children in sub-human conditions.

This is not journalism, it is propaganda? I wonder if the same journalists can walk freely in Pakistan making such statements about Islam? It is better the sooner the world get rid of such journalistic trash.

Regards,
Hindu Human Rights Watch

Dear Indians please answer mourners cries
Courtesy Raising Kashmir local daily
Srinagar, Sep 06: Asiya has dagger in heart. Not just for her elder brother fell to Police bullets outside his home, but also for his last wish – Javed Iqbal requested his sister to make custard (Firni) for Iftaar (to break holy fast) .
Myane Bayo…yita wael wael, firni ha chai tayar (O my brother…come soon the custard is ready) Asiya cried mournfully appearing to believe that Javed will come to taste the recipe she had lovingly prepared for him.
Javed was eldest of the 46-year-old Mehmooda’s two sons and a daughter.

While Asiya regrets for not offering her brother his favorite recipe, Mehmooda too is broken and her cries suggest she was waiting with dates and milk to offer a wholesome breakfast (in the evening during Ramadan) to her beloved son.
Javaid, a Taxi driver by profession, is known among his friends for his liking toward snooker.
Javed had only this morning returned from a Jammu trip.
Relatives said Javaid used to help his father Abdul Majeed, a fruit seller. Majid is unable to speak. .“The biggest tragedy in a father’s life is to attend the funeral of his young son, sighed a neighbor who was trying to console Majeed.
But Javed’s mother displays belief in the life hereafter: His sacrifice will not go waste and said, His blood will fetch results for the nation.
Riyaz younger brother of Javaid was unable to speak and was just gazing at the bullet-ridden body of his elder brother.
He was just answering the slogans raised during the funeral. Shaheed Ki Jo Moot Hai - Woh Qoum Ki Hayat Hai (Death of a martyr ensures life of a nation).

Dear Indians & Jai
Let me introduce you myself I am common Kashmiri who is alinated by your Indian illegal rule & by Indian people who don’t have courage to face the facts. I am born & bought up in Kashmir I feel each & every moment of Kashmir, I know much more then you what is happening in Kahmir. Just check this http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008  /09/04/asia/OUKWD-UK-KASHMIR-PROTESTS-P OLITICAL-FEATURE-PIX-GR.php?page=1 to know the world opinon about Kashmir you people are too much ignorant if you are really curious enough about Kashmir check Daily Local paper on net http://www.greaterkashmir.com; also check http://www.iht.com; washington post etc. but you people are so busy to look dance which are broadcasted in news channels of India media who don’t have concept of Journalism. If you really want to know, even what is happening in India how poor people are suffring just have look on Arundati Roy interview in OUTLOOK but you people just want to close your eyes & like to see what Indian media is showing you come to real India where people don’t have enough money to buy a single meal.
About Kashmir I think past month you have not watched Indian media which gave little coverage to Kashmir. If you have watched news channels you might have seen how 1 million Kashmiris mached in favour of azadi to IddGah. You Indians didn’t find why Indian Govt imposed curfew for 9 days without any relaxation; for your knowledge it was call from Sepratist to march towards Lal Chowk for sit on protest but as usual Indians feel ashamed & embraced by their illegal rule to respect the people wishes so they imposed curfew. Just check todays greater kashmir you will see how Indian brutal army is aiming at a Young Chap who was martayed by the same guy. His fault was he want end of Illegal Indian rule.

Well, I dont know much. But always feel that teh Kashmir issue is a issue just to keep teh feelings of being isolated, alive in the muslims.
Muslims were never more than a vote bank in India. Just use them for political gains.
If Kashmiri have brains then they would know the situation of pakistan.
Muslim brothehood would vanish once U sterv.

Rajiv,
There is a sense of alienation in Jammu. The recent protests were not just a result of allocating land or a Hindu-Muslim issue. Many muslims also joined the Hindus in the protests against Kashmiri domination.
The Kashmir-centric administration has been neglecting Jammu in order to pamper Kashmir.
Let the Kashmiris have the autonomy they want if it saves us billions of dollars and thousands of lives without giving up our territory. And let the people of Jammu and Ladakh move on without being associated with all the baggage that comes along with being clubbed with Kashmir all the time.
There is no need for Article 370 in Jammu as I dont think the people of Jammu mind if Indians buy land there or move there and contribute to their economy.

Myra,
The Balti people of Kargil have never shown any inclination to join the Northern Areas of Pakistan. They have little or no kinship to Kashmiris like you said and have little or no desire for azadi or being part of the Balawaristan separatist movement in Pakistan. At least not that I’ve ever heard off. So Kargil will remain part of India and part of the new state of Jammu and Ladakh.

There is no quick fix solution but I see this as one way to bring about a radical positive change as opposed to small bandage-solutions that serve no real purpose but to maintain the status quo.

Vishad

PS: One small correction:- You wrote “Kashmir Valley is primarily Sufi and the hardline brand of Wahhabi/Deobandi Islam followed by al Qaeda and the Taliban has never really managed to take root there”

Deobandi is completely different from Wahhabi. In fact Deobandi is a hard line Sufi school that originated in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh. Wahhabi is a Saudi movement of the Salafi school and has nothing to do with Deobandi or Sufism.
The Taliban were in fact Deobandi or at least claim to have drawn their inspiration from the Deobandis. So technically the Taliban are also Sufi but the Deobandi school in UP claims to have little or no association with the Taliban.

Oh of course all Kashmiri women want to wear Jeans and of course 50% of Kashmiri men should move to Pakistan. At least this will help India’s skewed gender ratio.

And I hope that USA/United Nations and Europe would help India turn Kashmir into Switzerland so that all the ill gotten (but hard earned) money of Indian elite and other South Asian brothers can be secretly deposited in Kashmiri banks, with nice secrecy codes like Swiss banks.

And of course, Europe and USA can also give financial aid to Kashmiri women to buy made in China jeans. That would also promote friendly relations with China that already holds a big chunk of Kashmir that it took away from India after a bit of arm twisting in 1962, if memory serves me right.

I think if Indian Kashmiri citizens show their purchased jeans receipts to China, they might even consider giving back Chinese occupied Kashmir that otherwise angry Indian Hindus are too scared to talk about.

I think India should invade China and take back Chinese occupied Kashmir.

As for Mishra and Arundathi Roy: If they love Kashmiris so much I think Mishra should consider getting circumcised and Arundathi Roy can buy a shiny new veil that might even cure her writer’s block.

And Reuters, you watch out before Laxmi Mittal or Ambani brothers will buy you out. Stop talking about Kashmir Azadi stuff if you want to keep your jobs.

Vishad: You write ”The people of Jammu and Ladakh feel alienated by the Kashmiris and would prefer to be an integral part of India without having things like Article 370 etc imposed upon them.”

What makes you think that people feel article 370 is ”imposed” on them? It already grants autonomy to Kashmir, in letter. Granting autonomy is not an act of imposition. But regardless of article 370, in reality Kashmir is a police and military state.

Though your intentions to bring peace to Kashmir region are good, I’m afraid that right wing Hindu nationalist politics of political parties like BJP will never let that happen. If India wanted to grant autonomy to Kashmir and leave Kashmiris alone it would respect article 370. But as it is BJP has been crying loud for long to actually scrap article 370.

Nice words got no use if they have no will or actions that must go along with them.

Myra,

I think this issue is a lot more complicated than just letting Kashmir be free or not.
Firstly, let us realize that we are dealing with the state of Jammu and Kashmir and not just Kashmir.

The people of Jammu and Ladakh (Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist) have no desire for azadi or joining Pakistan and have shown no such tendency in the past.

So-called “Azad Kashmir” is neither Azad nor Kashmir. It is completely controlled by the Pakistani establishment and it is illegal according to the Azad Kashmir constitution to speak against Pakistani rule.
It is not really Kashmir either as only a handful of the population is ethnic Kashmiri. Most people there are Punjabis and Pathans and do not speak Kashmiri at all.

The Northern Areas of Pakistan are not really “Kashmir” either.

That leaves just the Kashmir Valley.
Can the valley really survive as an independent state? You yourself quoted Vir Sanghvi’s column in which he mentions the billions of dollars that India showers upon Kashmir just to maintain some sort of stability.

I suggest the following solution (let me know what you think) :

1) Separate Jammu and Ladakh from the Valley. The people of Jammu and Ladakh feel alienated by the Kashmiris and would prefer to be an integral part of India without having things like Article 370 etc imposed upon them.
Make Jammu and Ladakh a separate state.

2) Make the Kashmir valley more autonomous. Have democracy at the grass roots like in the rest of India by setting up panchayats in villages rather than the Srinagar having to meddle with local affairs inefficiently. I think the Hurriyat should take a more active role in state affairs instead of crying for azadi all the time.

3) Open up the border to trade with Muzzafarbad. This is key as Swaminathan Aiyar says that the traditional trade route to Srinagar was via Rawalpindi and not Jammu.

4) Reduce troop presence everywhere except the border areas. Give peace a chance. If violence erupts India can bring troops back in.

5) Make special concessions and declare the Kashmiri Pandits as a protected minority and relocate them into the Valley. This will boost Kashmir’s economy and will make peace with right-wing Hindu groups in India.

6) Go ahead with the healing touch method as suggested by the PDP by allowing former terrorists to surrender, grant them amnesty and allow them to contest elections.

Let’s face it. India is not going to just let go of Kashmir so easily. Kashmiris are not going to stop demanding Azadi. And i seriously doubt whether Kashmir will really be able to survive as an independent nation. So how about a mid-way solution that in the long run may benefit everyone?

I understand the frustrations of Indians - both from Kashmir and not from Kashmir (well maybe Kashmiris don’t consider themselves Indians)
However I completely disagree with the author’s suggestion on plebiscite as she has proposed. I agree that in 1947, J&K was promised a plebiscite and yes, it should be held. But it should not be held only in Indian Kashmir. If there has to be a fair judgement, both India and Pakistan should withdraw from their respective regions and the plebiscite should be held in the whole of Kashmir.
Pakistan has to dismantle the terrorist camps in PoK and allow peace a chance before any such step is taken (there is ample evidence of PoK based militants operating in India, hope the author and the “freedom-fighters” admit it)
On the point about a new generation of youth turning into terrorists, let me remind the readers that people in India too have been killed in thousands in the numerous bomb blasts over the past two decades. There is a lot of frustration among Indians as well – in spite of pumping billions of rupees in Kashmir, what we always get back is constant acquisitions and terror in our own cities. I don’t deny there have been excesses but the media should also acknowledge what deep shit Kashmir’s economy would be in without India.
Also, I do accept we have not been always right on plebiscite issue but why is no one asking Pakistan to take responsibility as well. If there has to be a plebiscite, it has to happen in the whole of Kashmir when both India and Pakistan withdraw from their respective regions. Can Pakistan guarantee that it will not play dirty in future and start claiming parts of Punjab, Rajasthan or other bordering states?
If the US & UK feel threatened, they are very well allowed to go and bomb Afghanistan and Iraq. Am not saying we should do the same but at least the world has to be fair in its judgement before criticising a nation.
As far as Kashmiris are concerned, they are very well welcome to opt for ‘freedom’ if they wish, we will atleast save billions and stop the bombs. But I am sure they know if they do so, economically they are doomed. See the below link for a brilliant article by Gurcharan Das on Kashmiri choice
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opini on/Columnists/Gurcharan_Das/Kashmiri_cho ice/articleshow/3397892.cms