Kashmir Freedom and Pandit Nehru’s Pledges

 

By Sohail Parwaz

Pandit Nehru is a political character of the Subcontinent’s history who will never be forgiven by the Muslims and general and the Kashmiris in particular, for his cunningness, hypocrisy and prejudice towards the Muslims. Let’s discuss here Pandit Nehru’s on record statements and assurances to the world about extending the plebiscite right to the Kashmiris.

God knows what Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi would have done had he been alive. Unfortunately he didn’t survive long, nevertheless, what he said about the fate of Kashmiris carries lots of credence as he had a much taller political size than Pandit Nehru and that’s why he was titled ‘Mahatma’ (the greater soul) by the Hindus. Even he believed that Kashmir was one day going to become a Muslim State.

A renowned Kashmiri historian and journalist, Pandit Premnath Bazaz, in 1934, wrote a letter to Gandhi and enquired that what the Maharaja of Kashmir should do, when majority of his subjects were Muslims. Gandhi’s reply dated 5th May, 1934 was:

“Knew that Kashmir is predominantly Mussalman, it is one day bound to become a Mussalman State. Therefore, a Hindu prince can rule it only by not ruling i.e., doing as the Mussalmans want him to do or by expedient is more than one can judge.”

(From the History of Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir by Pandit Premnath Bazaz, published by Kashmir publishing Company, 122 Kotla Mubarikpur, New Delhi, page 343).

What a joke it was that while the first three Dakotas of No 12 Squadron of RIAF (Royal Indian Air Force) took off from Willington (Safdar Jung) airfield at 5 AM on 27 Oct 1947 with troops of the 1st Sikh Regiment, within hours of the signing of the Instrument of Accession, almost at the same time Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was sending the following telegram to the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Pakistan:

“I should like to make it clear that the question of aiding Kashmir in this emergency is not designed in any way to influence the State to accede to India. On view which we have repeatedly made public is that the question of accession in any disputed territory or state must be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people and we adhere to the view.”

Pandit Nehru was a worshipper of the old Indian political theorist Chanakya, the author of the book Arthashastra, in which the latter has described the tricks and strategies of politics and diplomacy. Pandit Nehru had admitted that this book would remain under his pillow. This is why Nehru adopted this sort of politics with us in Kashmir and also in international politics with Hungary and other issues. Same has been mentioned by his most trusted and tamed ‘Lion’ Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in his autobiography (page 350-355) where he revealed the true face of this real Hindu revivalist, who was keen to restore the “ancient greatness” of India and his discovery of India sometimes came imperceptibly, though, close to the ideology of Hindu revivalists like K. M. Munshi and Swami Dayanad Sarsvat (the founder of Arya Semaj).

Having said so this, let’s see what this hypocrite and a hardliner politician had been saying regarding the right of plebiscite for the Kashmiris, at different forums. What he did otherwise is well known to all and sundries. The statement he gave on October 26, 1947, a day before moving the Indian forces into Valley says:

“We have received urgent appeal for assistance from Kashmir Government. We would be disposed to give favorable consideration to such, request from any friendly State. Kashmir’s Northern frontiers, as you are aware, run in common with those of three countries, Afghanistan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China. [….] Helping Kashmir, therefore, is an obligation of national interest to India. We are giving urgent consideration to question as to what assistance we can give to State to defend itself.”

At the same time while sending a telegram dated 26 October 1947 to the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee and repeating the same telegram (Telegram 402 Primin-2227) on October 27, 1947, to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, he wrote:

“I should like to make it clear that question of aiding Kashmir in this emergency is not designed in any way to influence the State to accede to India.” 
[Unfortunately, on the very same day the Indian army was officially intruding in Kashmir!]

Better to take a look at some other statements given at different times and different occasions, chronologically. That will definitely help in analyzing the double standards and the hypocrisy of the Indian Prime Minister.

October 31, 1947

“[….] our assurance that we shall withdraw our troops from Kashmir as soon as peace and order is restored and leave the decision regarding the future of the State to the people of the State is not merely a promise to your Government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world.”
(Jawaharlal Nehru, Telegram No. 25, October 31, 1947, to Liaquat Ali Khan, PM of Pakistan)

November 2, 1947

In a broadcast to his nation, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said on the All India Radio:

“We have decided that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. The pledge we have given (and the Maharaja has supported it) not only to the people of Kashmir but to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it. [….] And let we make it clear that is has been our policy all along that where there is a dispute about the accession of a state to either dominion, the accession must be made by the people of the State. This is in accordance with this policy that we have added a proviso to the instrument of accession of Kashmir.”

November 25, 1947

While making a statement about Kashmir in the Indian Constituent Assembly, he, said: “In order to establish our bona fides, we have suggested that when the people are given the chance to decide their future, this should be done under the supervision of an impartial tribunal such as the United Nations Organisation. The issue in Kashmir is whether violence and naked force should decide the future or the will of the people.”

[On 31st December 1947, Indian Government referred the issue to the UN Security Council and prolonged discussions on it took place.]

March 5, 1948

In between, Pandit Nehru addressed the Constituent Assembly of India and said:

“Even at the moment of accession, we went out of our way to make unilateral declaration that we would abide by the will of the people of Kashmir, as declared in a plebiscite or a referendum. We insisted further that the Government of Kashmir would immediately become a popular government. We have adhered to that position throughout and we are prepared to have a plebiscite; with every protection for fair voting, and to abide by the decision of the people of Kashmir. Ultimately, there is no doubt in my mind, that in Kashmir, as elsewhere, the people of Kashmir will decide finally and that all we wish is that they should have freedom of decision without any external compulsion.”

In the year 1948, the Government of India issued a White Paper on Kashmir in which the Nehru’s promise of plebiscite was repeated, “The question of accession is to be decided, finally throughout a plebiscite, on this there is no dispute. There will be no victimization of any native of the State, whatever, his political views may be and no Kashmiri will be deprived of his right to vote.”

February 23, 1948
“As the Security Council is aware, the Government of India is fully committed to the view that after peace is restored and all people belonging to the State have returned there, a free plebiscite should be taken and the people should decide whether they wish to remain with India, go over to Pakistan or to remain Independent if they choose to do so.”
(Indian representative Gopal Swami Ayvanger, “UN Security Official Records”, 239th Meeting, February 23, 1948)

16th November 1949
“If you rule out mediation, then the only two things that remain are either continuation of the deadlock or war. So far as we are concerned, and I have said this repeatedly, we want to rule out war….. A deadlock, of course, will continue until there is settlement. Therefore, mediation is the only way out.”
(On 16th November 1949, Press conference in New Delhi, Pandit Nehru, Prime Minister of India)

18th January 1951

“India has repeatedly offered to work with the United Nations reasonable safeguards to enable the people of Kashmir to express their will and is always ready to do so. We have always right from the beginning accepted the idea of the Kashmir people deciding their fate by referendum or plebiscite. In fact, this was our proposal long before the United Nations came into the picture. Ultimately the final decision of the settlement, which must come, has first of all to be made basically by the people of Kashmir and secondly, as between Pakistan and India directly. [….] It is an obvious fact that even without our agreement no country is going to hold on to Kashmir against the will of the Kashmiris.”

(Excerpt from Nehru’s press conference in London, on 16th January 1951, as reported by daily The Statesman, on 18th January 1951)

12 February 1951

“We have given our pledge to the people of Kashmir and subsequently to the United Nations; we stood by it and we stand by it today. Let the people of Kashmir decide.”
(Nehru’s statement in Indian Parliament, 12 February 1951)

July 6, 1951

“Kashmir has been wrongly looked upon as a prize for India or Pakistan. People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence and its people must be the final arbiters of their future.”

(Addressing the All India Congress Committee on 6th July 1951, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India)

January 2, 1952

“Kashmir is not the property of either India or Pakistan, it belongs to the Kashmiri people. When Kashmir acceded to India, we made it clear to the leaders of the Kashmir people that we would ultimately abide by the verdict of their plebiscite. If they tell us to walk out, I would have no hesitation in quitting Kashmir.We have taken the issue to the United Nations and given our word of honour for a peaceful solution…. As a great nation we cannot go back on it. We have left the question for final solution to the people of Kashmir and we are determined to abide by their decision.”

(Pandit Nehru made a statement, as reported by Amritbazar Patrika, Calcutta)

Although there are dozens of more statements by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, on Kashmir issue, however, to avoid monotony just a last one is given below, as reported by the Times of India, Bombay on July 2, 1952:

“In any event, from the start, India was committed to the principle of letting the final word regarding the accession rest with the people of the princely states and there could be no getting away from that commitment. In fact, that was why India had accepted Kashmir’s accession only provisionally in 1947, when I came to Srinagar and gave the solemn assurance that the people of India would stand by Kashmir in her struggle. [….] I want to repeat that India will stand by the pledge, whatever happens, that pledge itself stated that it is for the people of Kashmir to decide their fate without external interference. That assurance also remains and will continue.”

Unfortunately the Muslim Ummah remained divided all along thus could never keep itself one as a united block to show strength or display their worth. That’s the only reason that their problems may that be of Kashmir, Palestine, Lebanon or elsewhere in the world are unresolved and shall remain so until they decide to take a united stand as Ummah. It reminds me of few lines from a famous German poem, through which the German intellectuals were condemned and criticised for their silence and cowardice;

The Weak and Stunted Future of India

Ishaal Zehra
India, the world’s second most populous nation, and a country with a serious sanitation crisis has now also been named the country where the highest number of children in the world are affected by stunting due to lack of toilets, clean drinking water and poor hygiene. Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two. If they survive, they grow up physically and intellectually weaker than their better-fed peers.
The new report out this week from the international nonprofit, WaterAid, reveals that 48 million children in India, or two out of every five kids under the age of five, are suffering from stunted growth. The report, ’Caught Short’, underscores how this affects their physical, cognitive and emotional development, and is linked to the lack of clean water and toilets.
India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Republic of Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five -- about 30 percent of the global total, WaterAid report said.
Data collated by the NGO showed that 1,40,000 children die every year from diarrhea in India, while 76 million do not have access to safe water and 774 million live without adequate sanitation.
"India has the highest number of people in the world... practicing open defecation, which spreads deadly diseases and makes children more susceptible to diarrhea and other infections," said Megan Wilson-Jones, WaterAid health and hygiene analyst. "So it is no surprise that so many children in India suffer from stunted growth," she added.
The report highlights that malnutrition is not just caused by a lack of food: a lack of access to a safe toilet, clean water and good hygiene practices also plays a major role. Repeated bouts of diarrhea - often caused by dirty water and unhygienic environments - are directly linked to malnutrition.
"Currently, more than 650 million people in the world do not have access to clean water and more than 2.3 billion do not have access to an adequate toilet. Diarrheal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation are the second biggest killer of children under five after pneumonia, taking 315,000 young lives every year. Even those children who survive severe bouts of diarrhea are at risk of having their lives, and life chances, forever changed," the report said.
Globally 159 million children under the age of 5 are stunted - one in four children of this age, it said.
Impoverished Bangladesh fared better than its bigger, wealthier neighbour India, recording 5.5 million cases in its 160 million-strong population. The country has almost eliminated open defecation in just over a decade through a concerted campaign to build toilets.
East Timor was the country where stunting was most prevalent while Germany had the lowest rate at 1.3 percent.
Around 50 per cent of malnutrition cases are linked to infections, including chronic diarrhea, caused by lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) including handwashing with soap, the report said.
It said that in the developing world, a lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a major contributor to malnutrition and one impact of this is stunting, where severe and prolonged under-nutrition makes children shorter than normal for their age and affects their emotional, social and cognitive development.
In the developing world, a lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a major contributor to malnutrition. One impact of this is stunting, where severe and prolonged under-nutrition makes children shorter than normal for their age, and affects their emotional, social and cognitive development. Currently, more than 650 million people in the world do not have access to clean water and more than 2.3 billion do not have access to an adequate toilet.
Diarrheal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation are the second biggest killer of children under five after pneumonia, taking 315,000 young lives every year. Even those children who survive severe bouts of diarrhea are at risk of having their lives, and life chances, forever changed.
"India has made progress on reducing child stunting, from 48 per cent of all children in 2006 to 39 per cent in 2014. However, alongside the high numbers of people without access to adequate toilets, India also has the highest concentration in the world of people practicing open defecation.
WaterAid India's Policy Manager Arundati Muralidharan, said that water, sanitation and hygiene are important determinants of nutrition. "With open defecation rampant in India, frequent diarrhea hinders the ability of children to absorb nutrients. India has made significant efforts to improve the nutritional status of children and women, but the beneficial impact of these efforts is threatened by poor WASH.”
India is home to the world's largest number of stunted children due to a lack of toilets, dirty water and poor hygiene. The self proclaimed shinning India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Congo combined -- about 30 percent of the global total... it is alarming... having said that Pakistan also needs to be more conscious about sanitation and risks in her land too. Though with quite lesser in number than India which tops the list of ten countries with the greatest number of stunted children having the number around 48 Million, Pakistan is at number 3 of the list with the number of stunted children exceeding the figure of 9 Million.

China Hints at Economic Costs After India Deploys Tanks, Troops to Border

After India mobilized tanks to the Chinese border, Beijing has warned that the move could threaten potential investment opportunities.

On Wednesday, reports surfaced that New Delhi deployed nearly 100 Russian-made T-72 tanks to the Chinese border, in the northern region of Ladakh. Indian military officials cite a Chinese buildup on its side of the border as necessitating the move.

On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce warned against the provocation, arguing that Beijing may rethink its Indian investment strategy.

According to Global Times, China’s outbound investments have increased dramatically in the first half of this year, up approximately 59%.

"In this regard, a great number of Chinese firms, including smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi and PC computer maker Lenovo, have turned their eyes toward India," Global Times reports.

Beijing’s increased exports coincide with New Delhi’s need to meet rising import demands. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working to attract overseas firms.

"However, it is puzzling that while deploying tanks near China’s border, India still strives to woo Chinese investment," Global Times reports.

"In an index on the ease of doing business, from the World Bank, India currently ranks 130 out of 189. Despite India’s stated goal to rise to within the top 100 this year, the nation still has its work cut out for them."

In order for China and India to work together, the paper asserts, political disputes must be set aside and regional tensions put to rest.

"In the long run, there is large potential for a successful relationship between China and India, especially in the manufacturing sector," Global Times notes.

"In order for that possibility to become a reality, both China and India will need to work hard to clear up misunderstandings in a bid to lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of economic and trade cooperation."

Tensions have been building between Beijing and New Delhi in recent months. In the midst of the South China Sea dispute, the Indian Navy deployed three vessels to conduct joint military exercises with Malaysia.

In Nepal, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli has expressed an interest in working more closely with the Chinese government, a move that has irked India.

India Moves Nearly One Hundred Tan Ks, Troops to Chinese Border

With tensions rising between China and India, New Delhi has deployed nearly 100 tanks to its eastern border.
The mountainous region of Ladakh, in northern India, lies in a tense location between disputed Kashmir and Tibet. In an effort to boost its military presence in the area, the Indian military has sent Russian-made T-72 tanks to Ladakh’s Chinese border.
"The vast flat valleys along the mountain ranges allow for armored movement; besides, there has been an increase in the force levels across the border," an unnamed military official told NDTV.
The tanks have undergone significant upgrades to be better outfitted for the region’s climate.
"We have procured special additives and lubricants for high-altitude terrain such as winter-grade diesel and additives for the lubrication system, which prevents it from freezing in the tank," Colonel Vijay Dalal told The Hindu.
This marks the third regiment placed in Ladakh by India since 2014.
Tensions between the neighbors have been building recently. Earlier this month, the Indian Navy deployed three ships to the South China Sea.
"The visiting ships are also likely to conduct exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy aimed at enhancing interoperability in communication as well as Search and Rescue procedures," said a statement issued by India’s Defense Ministry.
Malaysia is currently at odds with China over territorial claims in the waterway.
Beijing and New Delhi are also competing over Nepal. While Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli has expressed an interest in working more closely with the Chinese government, India is unlikely to surrender its own influence over Kathmandu.

America ignores Pakistan at its peril

By: John McCain

Over the July 4 weekend, I made my annual trip to Afghanistan to visit US troops and military commanders. I also travelled to Pakistan to meet civilian and military leaders and to discuss counterterrorism efforts in the region. Two things are clear from that visit.

First, the US mission in Afghanistan is the same today as it was in 2001: to disrupt and defeat terrorist networks that seek to attack its interests and homeland and to deny them safe haven. That mission remains urgent, and it is unfortunately not over yet.

Second, the US mission in Afghanistan is immeasurably more difficult without Pakistan’s co-operation in taking on terrorists that operate across the Afghan-Pakistani border at will. That is why enhanced co-operation between Afghanistan and Pakistan is essential. Likewise, the strategic imperative for improved relations between the US and Pakistan is clear — for the safety
of American troops and the success of their mission in Afghanistan, for the stability of the region and for the national security of both Pakistan and the US.

But recently, the US-Pakistan relationship has been strained. Among other things, limitations on US assistance to Pakistan and congressional reluctance to approve subsidies for the sale of defence articles have added to tensions between the two governments.

Despite this and other recent difficulties, US and Pakistani leaders cannot allow ambivalence and suspicion to fester. Common interests in counterterrorism, nuclear security and regional stability are too important and too urgent.

For too long, the US has viewed the bilateral relationship only through the prism of Afghanistan. To achieve real progress, the US must make clear its enduring commitment to Pakistan’s stability and economic growth.

For its part, Pakistan must take on and eliminate havens for terrorist groups such as the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad that operate within its borders, attack its neighbours and kill US forces. Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the army chief of staff General Raheel Sharif, have made recent commitments to do just that. Following through on these is critical.

This will be difficult for Pakistan. It will require political will and entail costly sacrifice in blood and treasure. That is why there will be sceptics in the country opposed to decisive efforts to defeat extremism.

But Mr Sharif and Gen Sharif have heard such pleas for restraint before. There were those who said it would be too hard to take on the Pakistani Taliban after it attacked a school in Peshawar and killed more than 130 children in 2014. Fortunately, Mr Sharif and Gen Sharif recognised the threat that these militants posed to Pakistan and took action. Thanks to these efforts, the perpetrator of the Peshawar school attack is no longer a threat to Pakistan or any other country.

In 2014, Pakistan launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, a tribal area along the Afghan-Pakistani border where militants had operated with impunity for decades. During my visit to Miram Shah in North Waziristan, I saw the city’s bazaar that once housed bomb-making factories, arms dealers and office fronts for terrorist groups.

Thanks to the actions of Pakistani soldiers, this death market is no more. Now the military is building roads, border posts, schools and healthcare facilities across North Waziristan, a recognition that the failure to focus on economic development in the tribal areas in previous decades was a profound mistake.

This operation did not eliminate every haven nor did it catch every terrorist. And it will require years of
follow-up to secure the gains it has achieved. But it has led to security improvements in the country. It shut down bomb-making factories and tunnel networks that menaced Afghanistan. And it displaced militants, many of whom fled into the crosshairs of US and Afghan forces ready and waiting on the other side of the border.

Pakistan has the opportunity to prove the sceptics wrong again by taking on terrorist groups that target Afghan, Indian and US forces in the region with the same energy with which it has prosecuted the fight against the Pakistani ­Taliban. By taking on all terrorist groups operating in its territory, Pakistan will find that the US remains willing and able to assist in this fight and develop an enduring strategic partnership.

The sooner the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan get down to the business of fighting their common terrorist enemies together, no matter where they hide, the better off the nations, the region and the world will be.

The writer is a US senator and chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services

Kashmir Is Slipping Away From India

As India clamps down on Kashmir with an iron grip, it risks permanently losing the hearts and minds of the people.

By Farhad Shah

Last April, five civilians were shot dead by Indian soldiers in India-controlled Kashmir, shortly after protests broke out in the aftermath of the molestation of a young girl by soldiers in Handwara (50 miles north of the capital city of Srinagar). The attempted sexual harassment had gone largely unnoticed until the victim spoke to the media, but it was not the first time that a similar incident had occurred in the heavily militarized region. In almost three decades of armed oppression against the civilian population, supposedly a bid to win back trust in Kashmir, many women and girls have been raped and molested by Indian soldiers. Sexual violence has been used as a channel to impose authority upon the female population, while torture and killings are used to suppress their male counterparts.

This isn’t the only reason why a popular civilian uprising is underway in Kashmir as India’s rule grows weak again. The government’s hold over the territory had strengthened with the help of mass killings in the early 1990s, and later, with the regional elections held in 1996. In the early 1990s, when India’s grip was weak and the rebels, as per an India Today report in May 1993, had “achieved successes previously unimaginable” and “for the first time established liberated zones,” a government militia was instrumental in crushing popular dissent, leading to the fall of most rebel groups. Currently, there is one group (other than a scattering of new-formed ones) that is still fighting in Kashmir and continues to gain power: the indigenous Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, also known as the Hizb. The Hizb has pro-Pakistan leanings, but most of its cadres are local. In the last few years, the Hizb has managed to climb to the top in terms of popularity, and continues to successfully gain new recruits, who are being celebrated as righteous warriors by the general public.

Even mourning the rebels’ losses is seen as a major political statement in contemporary Kashmir, as thousands of people join funeral processions for both local and Pakistani rebels who died fighting Indian soldiers. During several recent gunfights, moreover, civilians diverted the soldiers’ attention from the procession in order to help the rebels escape unscathed. These trends have alerted Indian agencies. Meanwhile, social media remains abuzz with many people who idolize rebel commanders, like Burhan Muzaffar Wani, a 23-year-old Hizb commander in South Kashmir who has become the face of the new rebellion. Wani’s brother Khalid was among those killed by the soldiers, and this year, a cricket tournament was organized to remember him, with team titles dedicated to various rebels. The people’s acceptance of this rebellion has grown with the decline of any political process that can hope to empower them.

The change in mood has its roots in the 2008 and 2010 mass uprisings in Kashmir, during which Indian troops and police shot more than 200 teenagers dead on the streets. This has gradually led to major protests, drawing in the younger generation, with people from all walks of life vehemently rejecting India’s continued rule in Kashmir. From the army to the local government, the alarm bells are ringing, but no one has a political solution to solve the long-standing issue. Last month in Kashmir, a senior official from the government informally told me that the new generation is angry. “Have you seen how these youths are reacting? They don’t want to listen to anything. They are serious about it (protesting) and can go to any extent to achieve their goals,” he said.

Continuous Killings and Impunity for Soldiers

Like many problems in South Asia, the roots of the Kashmir issue stretch back to the partition of British India in 1947. After an aborted attempt at remaining independent, what was once the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided between the two new countries of India and Pakistan, with a de facto border known as the Line of Control.

The armed rebellion against Indian rule in Kashmir started in the late 1980s. In these years of violence, around half a million soldiers in the region used extreme torture and targeted killings against civilians, with hundreds killed in some incidents. Estimates  of the number of people killed in Kashmir range from 70,000 to 100,000.

Force was again used in 2010, when the political narrative in Kashmir took a different shape as youths took over the reins of public dissent and rebellion. Two mass uprisings in 2008 and 2010 showed the brutal face of the state to children born during the 1990s, who had not seen such mass violence spearheaded by the state before. It further strengthened the younger generation’s anti-India sentiments and brought about a fresh wave of dissent. The slow growth of young rebels over the last five years is a product of this phenomenon.

Without a clear policy-based solution apparent, two laws that have been instrumental in crushing the recent popular dissent in the Valley:  the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which provides impunity to Indian soldiers for basically any action, and the Public Safety Act (PSA), which is used to imprison people without due process. Amnesty International calls the PSA a “lawless law” and has been campaigning for its revocation. On the AFSPA, Amnesty International said in its report in 2015 that the impunity is a long-standing problem in Jammu and Kashmir. “The lack of political will to account for past and present actions of the security forces, including the state police, is fortified by legislation and aggravated by other obstacles to justice, especially for those who lack financial resources or education,” the report read.

After the five civilians were shot dead by soldiers in Handwara, for example, the state government expressed regret over the killings, but it did not issue an investigation. The central government in New Delhi continued its silence, aside from blaming pro-freedom leaders for instigating the violence.

At the core of the long weeks of violence was an underage girl, who was subjected to attempted sexual harassment and was also forced to refrain from speaking to the media while she was kept under police detention. Activists accused the police of a forced detention to protect the solider who had committed the act; there was no clear response from New Delhi.

The girl was released later and spoke to the media, accusing the police of forcing her to give a statement that would exonerate the soldiers. “I had gone to a public washroom,” she said. “When I was coming out, a soldier came and held my hand. I freed my hand and ran out, weeping.” She demanded that an FIR must be filed against the accused soldiers and action be taken against the police officers involved in her detention.

It has been two months now since the attempted molestation and killings in Handwara, but the government has not yet produced an investigation report, as demanded by opposition parties.

Sexual Violations as a Form of Oppression

Incidents like the one in Handwara are not the first of their kind. Sexual violence conducted by the Indian forces has long been a mainstay tactic, with no one prosecuted to date. Another highly visible episode involving sexual violence occurred in 1991 in North Kashmir’s Kunan-Poshpora villages, when dozens of women accused Indian soldiers of rape.

On February 23, 1991, Indian soldiers had gone to the two villages for a cordon and search operation. As per various accounts, the soldiers tortured the men and raped the women. The 20-year-old injustice came to light again amidst the swelling public discontent of the last few years. In 2013, a group of women came together to file a public lawsuit that called for further investigations regarding the case. Months have passed since a local court ordered further investigations, but the police have taken no action.

Essar Batool, one of five Kashmiri women who co-authored the book Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?, says that “the legal procedure in Kashmir is neither transparent and nor accountable, as it is by extension another arm of Indian occupation.” Batool says the delay in the legal procedure not only hampers investigations and but also exposes the true face of the state to the public, who believe the judiciary will deliver justice.

Batool sees the case as a way to strengthen the public’s memory, which has supposedly gone fragile despite years of brutal occupation. “We need to comprehend that the occupier is changing its tactics, and hence we need proper documentation to keep memories alive,” she says. “The documentation also contributes to spreading knowledge about Kashmir and Indian occupation… through the book many people outside Kashmir and even outside India came to know about the incident in detail only 25 years later.”

New Rebels and a Strengthened Movement

Earlier this month, rebels overpowered three policemen and snatched four service rifles from the police in South Kashmir. Rebels have been using this strategy for the last few years, taking weapons from the police or paramilitary troops and later giving them to their new recruits. It also shows the growth of the rebellion as an indigenous movement, as the border with Pakistan has become less and less porous over time. The rebels are mainly focusing on their particular areas, mostly in the south of the Kashmir Valley. But lately some attacks and rebel activities have happened in North Kashmir and Central Kashmir also. In the absence of any political solution, the youth have become restless and their anger has intensified.

The Indian Army has also started acknowledging the change in the Kashmiri situation. One of the senior military commanders in Northern India, Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, recently told the Associated Press that soldiers have little hope of competing against the rebels for public sympathy. “It’s a big problem, a challenge for us to conduct anti-militant operations now,” said Hooda. “Frankly speaking, I’m not comfortable anymore conducting operations if large crowds are around. Militarily, there’s not much more to do than we already have done … We’re losing the battle for a narrative.”

Growing anti-India sentiments their counterpart in rapidly rising support for Pakistan among people in India-controlled Kashimr. Yet the chief cleric of South Kashmir’s Ummat-i-Islami, Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir, believes that the ongoing freedom struggle in the Valley is a populist movement. “More than things, symbols are more important and [the new rebellion] is a symbol,” he says. “Even if there are no resources, but still this is a symbol.”

However, he acknowledges that “a long-term rebellion” will find it “hard to survive without resources.”

“If Pakistan wants to help the movement here, they will have their own interests also,” he adds. “[...]Pakistan has always tried to show it as an indigenous movement and it is an indigenous to a large extent.”

Some observers also believe that Pakistan has changed its approach too, from involving itself on the ground to becoming the political backbone for the Kashmir issue globally.

This endeavor to advocate on behalf of the Kashmiri people was evident at recent United Nations meetings, where Pakistan continuously raised the Kashmir issue, as well as in bilateral talks with India. As a result, India has declared that Pakistan is needlessly internationalizing the Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir may look better compared now to the peaks of violence in the past, but don’t be fooled: in the heart of the Valley, the rise of anti-India sentiment has weakened India’s control.

Anti-India forces are hugely motivated by the extreme force used against dissenting voices by the newly formed regional government, which brought together the local People’s Democratic Party and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The new head of the region’s government, Mehbooba Mufti, recently said that there are only four bunkers of Indian forces in the Valley – a statement that highly angered the people, who have to face soldiers and police regularly in their daily lives. The regional government’s anti-dissent tactics combined with the disappearance of opportunities to construct a solid political solution to provide respite to the ordinary people in Kashmir has only made things worse. Unless India changes tactics — and soon – Kashmir will continue to slip away.

India has most number of stunted children: Study

India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Republic of Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five.Photo: AFP

India is home to the world's largest number of stunted children due to a lack of toilets, dirty water and poor hygiene, according to a new study published on Tuesday.

India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Republic of Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five -- about 30 percent of the global total, a WaterAid report said.

Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two.

If they survive, they grow up physically and intellectually weaker than their better-fed peers.

WaterAid says a lack of toilets and clean water are causing high levels of stunting in India.

Contamination can spread disease and infection.

Data collated by WaterAid showed that 1,40,000 children die every year from diarrhoea in India, while 76 million do not have access to safe water and 774 million live without adequate sanitation.

"India has the highest number of people in the world... practising open defecation, which spreads deadly diseases and makes children more susceptible to diarrhoea and other infections," said Megan Wilson-Jones, WaterAid health and hygiene analyst.

"So it is no surprise that so many children in India suffer from stunted growth," she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to clean up India since storming to power in 2014 and has repeatedly urged every household to have a toilet within four years to end the spread of disease.

Nigeria ranked second with 10.3 million stunted children while Pakistan stood third in WaterAid's study with 9.9 million.

Impoverished Bangladesh fared better than its bigger, wealthier neighbour India, recording 5.5 million cases in its 160 million-strong population.

The country has almost eliminated open defecation in just over a decade through a concerted campaign to build toilets.

East Timor was the country where stunting was most prevalent.

Nearly 58 percent of the young nation's children suffered from the condition, while Germany had the lowest rate at 1.3 percent.AFP

Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two. They grow up physically and intellectually weaker than their better-fed peers.

With around 48 mil, India has largest number of stunted children, says report

New Delhi: Around 48 million children or two in every five children under the age of five years in India are stunted, making India home to largest number of stunted children in world in terms of volumes, a new report said on Tuesday.

"India, the world's second most populous nation and a country with a well-known sanitation crisis has been named as having the greatest number of children in the world who are stunted.

"The report reveals 48 million children in India, or two in every five under five, are suffering from stunted growth, which affects their physical development as well as cognitive and emotional development," the report 'Caught Short' - How a lack of toilets and clean water contributes to malnutrition' brought out by international development charity WaterAid said.

Noting that India has the highest concentration in the world of people practising open defecation, the report said that high rates of open defecation have a strong correlation with increased rates of stunting, as faeces in the environment contaminate hands and surroundings and spread disease and infection.

It said that Nigeria and Pakistan rank second and third with 10.3 and 9.8 million children stunted respectively.

The Southeast Asian nation of Timor-Leste tops the list of countries having the highest percentage of children who are stunted at 58 per cent.

"Currently, more than 650 million people in the world do not have access to clean water and more than 2.3 billion do not have access to an adequate toilet. Diarrhoeal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation are the second biggest killer of children under five after pneumonia, taking 315,000 young lives every year. "Even those children who survive severe bouts of diarrhoea are at risk of having their lives, and life chances, forever changed," the report said. Globally 159 million children under the age of 5 are stunted - one in four children of this age, it said. Stunting is defined as children having low height for age and indicates that children have not developed as they should, physically or cognitively.

Stunting is a consequence of malnutrition in the first 1,000 days from conception until age two. It is largely irreversible after the age of two, making those first 1,000 days critical to a child’s development.

The report said that some 140,000 children under five in India die each year of diarrhoeal diseases related to the lack of these basic services. Around 50 per cent of malnutrition cases are linked to infections, including chronic diarrhoea, caused by lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) including handwashing with soap, the report said. It said that in the developing world, a lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a major contributor to malnutrition and one impact of this is stunting, where severe and prolonged under-nutrition makes children shorter than normal for their age and affects their emotional, social and cognitive development.

"India has made progress on reducing child stunting, from 48 per cent of all children in 2006 to 39 per cent in 2014. However, alongside the high numbers of people without access to adequate toilets, India also has the highest concentration in the world of people practising open defecation.

"Research shows that high rates of open defecation have a strong correlation with increased rates of stunting as faeces in the environment contaminate hands and surroundings, and spread disease and infection," the report said. WaterAid India's Policy Manager Arundati Muralidharan, said that water, sanitation and hygiene are important determinants of nutrition.

"With open defecation rampant in India, frequent diarrhoea hinders the ability of children to absorb nutrients. India has made significant efforts to improve the nutritional status of children and women, but the beneficial impact of these efforts are threatened by poor WASH. "For our children to be healthy and well-nourished, we need both nutrition specific interventions that get essential nutrients to children, as well as nutrition sensitive interventions on WASH," she said. Last September world leaders made commitments in the UN Global Goals to end hunger and malnutrition and to reach everyone everywhere with clean water and sanitation, all by 2030. WaterAid also urged governments to make ambitious investments in water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

Repealing AFSPA Only won’t Make Much Difference in Kashmir

By Ishaal Zehra

While it’s been four years that the United Nations has asked India to repeal the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the Indian Army has continued with its horrendous practice of killing innocent, un-armed Kashmiris taking the death toll to 64 in a recent strife that hit the valley of Kashmir after the unjustified killing of Burhan Wani by the Indian forces. The Indian forces have continued to impose curfew and restrictions in the occupied Kashmir on the 18th consecutive day to prevent people from staging demonstrations against the killing spree, unleashed by them using those special power act AFSPA.

How does it feels to be under constant curfew and restrictions? Huzaifa Pandit a Kashmiri blogger/writer so well described the feelings being a curfewed human when he wrote, “often friends living outside the state start conversations these days with the question: How are you? I wish to reply to the question but I can’t seem to find correct adjectives to describe how I am. In times of curfewed life, every word appears to attain a hue of its own and leaves me utterly confused. Somewhere down the line, I am reminded of the man in Lawrence’s poem "Snake":

   And voices in me said,        

   If you were a man

   You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.”

Whenever a boy dies in Indian occupied Kashmir fighting for his identity and life or for the life of his family and dear ones or may be for defending the honour of his sister or wife, my mind inevitably perceives his image keeping his age in mind. In most cases they are little boys with shiny eyes and smiling face, barely exceeding the age of twenty five. Burhan was only fifteen, the newspaper said, when he decided to fight. And the question is what compelled him to go fight against Indian illegal occupation of his land? And actually what compelled the Indian forces to kill him? Apparently he took the gun in his hand after killing of his brother at the hands of Indian forces and the Indian forces killed him just for not letting them continue with their evil design of illegal occupation of his Kashmir. A blogger and a yale Ph.D scholar on Kashmir says, “as a scholar, my research in Kashmir has taught me to discredit sensationalism around Kashmiri political figures. Thus, from my conversations in Kashmir, I was aware that Burhan has come to dominate the popular imagination because of his moral challenge to the Indian state.” Sad enough, his moral challenge lead to his killing.

Burhan Wani’s death lead the grieved Kashmiris to streets protesting against the unlawful occupation of their land and killings of who-so-ever at the hands of Indian forces with special powers awarded to them by the state of India. Since that day, many Kashmiris have been killed during confrontations between protesters and security forces. Thousands have been injured, many by pellet guns wielded by the police and security forces as a crude form of crowd control. Kashmir’s hospitals are overwhelmed, and more than 100 people, mostly young, are threatened with blindness by pellets lodged in their eyes.

Grieving Burhan is so wrong because the Indian state tells Kashmiri people that he is not grieve-able, and if Kashmiris do grieve him, they will be shot or maimed or killed; even be used as a worthless dead-body on which the war of land-claim will be played with the complete backing of Indian political class and their media.

Inshah Malik says, “When the state makes such a decision about the dispensability of people for strengthening its political claims, it assigns grieve-ability to such bodies. Thus, the media and political class in defence of the state create the distinction of who is to be grieved (soldiers) and who we mustn't grieve for (in this case Burhan).” “This evokes important questions such as should civilian grieving prompt the state to kill, maim, rape and sensor Kashmiri people?”

Kashmir is subject to India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or AFSPA, which grants the military wide powers to arrest, shoot to kill, occupy or destroy property. The result is a culture of brutal disdain for the local population. Therefore, the question of Indian claim over the land becomes the question of law. Consequently, in the case of thousands of human rights violation cases, it’s the state that ultimately decides whether the law applies or not.”

The New York Times, in its editorial says, “… These and other questions argue for an independent investigation into the use of force by Indian security forces in the occupied Kashmir, and for the reform of practices — including censorship, communications blackouts, and those allowed by AFSPA. A failure to take these steps will only push more young Kashmiris into militancy, and make a political solution impossible that alone can bring an end to the desperation that has, once again, gripped the region.” I would further add to the statement, this should be done immediately while seriously making way for the permanent solution. World should focus on Kashmir and UN be told to arrange for the already decided free and fair plebiscite in the valley which will ultimately lead to ending the crisis. All the best Kashmir!