The New Paradigms

Many readers of this blog would be wondering why we dont often post what we want to say.They seldom see our opinion on the blog.More often that not this blog carries news which is published in various newspapers and magazines across the world.Yes the news has relevance to our cause but isn't our opinion far more important that what the world says about it.I often wonder as the read through the maze of events from bombings of Karachi to suicide squads of FATA in Pakistan to our own backyard where separatists swear at each other .When "venerable" leaders like Geelani are almost punched in their own backyard I am reminded of the oft repeated Kashmiri proverb "Aenem Soy vavem soy lagem soy panesey' For those who dont know what Soy is,it is a shrub which if rubbed against human skin causes painful blisters.

As we sat through our meeting with Ambassadors of European Union(a news our secular media chose to black out,yet every newspaper carried pictures of these very gentlemen meeting "the new Gandhi"since Yasin Malik is the darling of the Indian Media moreso left leaning secular progressive and liberal comrades in journalistic attire)I was wondering if this is another exercise in futility or are we pressing something home.

To be honest I wasnt disappointed,the two news items that are posted below are an indication of what one of my favourite poets Allama Iqbal said and I qoute

Jo dil se nikalte hai baat asar rakhte hai

Par nahee taqat-e-parvaaz magar rakhte hai

(The voice that emanates from the heart has its own impact

Even though it does not have wings,but it does have the power to soar)

Here are the news items.......

TIMES OF INDIA

EU Group- Militancy turning Kashmir into lucrative business

A European group monitoring Jammu and Kashmir has said militancy had turned into a lucrative business in the state with criminals taking advantage of the troubled situation were indulging in extortion and abduction in the name of the so-called movement.

The Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir, in its recent report, has said criminals were taking advantage of the troubled situation in the state. "They are abducting people for money, raping, murdering, extorting money from businessperson, using mafia practices under the movement. Militancy is a lucrative industry," the report, submitted to the European Union and the United Nations during the recent session of the sub-commission on human rights, said.

The report, prepared by Association President Paul Beersmans after his visit to Jammu and Kashmir and meeting every shade of opinion including political leaders, separatists and government functionaries, has also asked Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism and infiltration, end sending money, ammunition and weapons and stop giving training to militants. "...as long as Pakistan supports terrorism openly or covertly, there cannot be peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Without peace there cannot be a solution," the 20-page report said. Beersmans also advised that composite dialogue between India and Pakistan must continue. "The process is slow and one should not expect a short-term solution. This can only be reached through small steps," it said.

Source : Times Of India

Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu Camps(in Kashmir Affairs)
Amina Rawat

Kundan Bhan’s anguish commenced way before her migration to Jammu in April 1990. Married at the tender age of 10 to a man 25 years her senior, her married life which was striven with poverty, ended soon after her husband suffered a heart attack in February 1986. Unable to bear the poverty and the burden of living with her Uncle who made his annoyance known to her, she went to live in Srinagar with her three sons on rent in 1988/9 only to migrate to Jammu soon after to live in even more deplorable conditions.
She remembers her short stay in Srinagar consisting of hartals, crackdowns, firings, processions with slogans, and bombs, adding that some Pandits were also killed and gave grace to Bhagwan [God] as she recounted her story of how her son Raju was saved twice from the obliteration of the bombs.
However, it was the fear and the threat from these proceedings which led her, and many of the other Kashmiri Pandits interviewed to make the sudden decision to flee the Valley leaving their property and possessions behind.
Roshan Lal Tickoo, a 56 year old originally from Bijbehara, who is a fellow resident at Mishriwala Camp and migrated a month before Kundan Bhan, left after his Hindu neighbour was gunned down and described his experience of the night he had to leave; "Our neighbours advised us to go as they couldn’t protect us any longer. We didn’t think we’d be here so long so I only got one trunk, a few beddings and utensils. At that time I only had one daughter of a few months. We left in secrecy in a private truck with 4-5 families, a truck belonging to a Muslim and when they came back, the militants blasted this truck for helping the Kashmiri Pandits." Since then he has never been back to Bijbehara and has no idea what has happened to his property.
When RL Tickoo, first came to Jammu, he and his family lived in tents for 8 years before the government made rows of "pigeon hole" like bricked one room tenements, one for each family, with the sanitation gutters flowing openly in the narrow lanes between the rows. These single room abodes serve as a lounge, a kitchen and a bedroom for all members of the family. RL Tickoo has seven people living with him; his wife, three teenage daughters, one son and his mother. As one of his daughters served us tea and sweets, he described a list of problems he has encountered; "I find it most difficult sitting in one room with seven people, and when we have guests they also have to stay in this one room. We had space back there with our own house and rice fields. Second, the smoke pollution from the brick kilns around us has led to poor health and has affected my chest particularly. Nor does the weather suit us, we are unable to tolerate it coming from temperate conditions, my mother is ill as a result and many other elders have died of strokes from the heat. Some have also died of snake bites, we also have to keep our eyes open 24 hours for snakes." He spends much of his day reading the newspapers stating that this idleness was contributing to his tensions, finally adding "health is wealth."
The living conditions in Muthi camp were much more pitiful; smaller and less well structured tenements with no windows, and unlike the other camps where each family had there own wash and toilet area attached to their tenement, in Muthi camp they had to be shared with dozens of families. Whilst being filmed, Janti Devi, a retired teacher from Pahalgam spoke passionately and tearfully about the politicization of their affliction; "This is our living quarters; Muthi camp. What is it? Muthi camp. We don’t have anything; roti, clothes, houses. We suffer in all ways; eating, drinking, sitting, getting up, living. …We ask the government to give us just the amenities to live a basic life and organisations come and go to see our suffering but we don’t get anything. On our name, the money does come from above [the government], but who are they giving it to? The Muslims and the bureaucrats. And on our name these people are building a name for themselves. Thus, these irresponsible government officials know our plight, even Sonia Ghandi came and saw."
The young teenage girls interviewed explained the awkwardness of getting changed with their brothers and fathers all living under one roof and the difficulty in studying with noise coming from all walks of life in the congested surroundings. As for the younger children, who were born and lived all their lives in the camp, they gathered excitedly in front of the camera in their school uniforms with smiling faces, ignorant of any better way of life.
Roshan Lal Raina lives in Purkhoo camp, the largest one in Jammu and is Member of State Apex Community for Migrant Affairs. He is a 48 year old former teacher from Pulwama and migrated in February 1990 after he was openly threatened in his residence stating "my neighbours openly threatened me, thank God they did before killing me. …3,000 people were killed before leaving the Valley. We are the aborigines of Kashmir Valley, if you look at history; nothing belongs to Kashmiri Muslims."
He described living on the road side even on his initial arrival to Jammu even before the government gave him a roof under which to stay. From there he started to struggle for his family’s future again but explained the difficulties of Kashmiri migrants getting jobs; "How can I get a job here? 12,000 Kashmiri Pandits have retired here but in the last 17 years only about 300 Pandits have been employed to replace them, there are currently only 4,700 Pandits in government jobs. ..if this rate stays the same then in a few years
Kashmir Pandits will have no jobs. And our educated youth remain mentally retarded. It is the greatness of the locals in Jammu that they have accommodated us and given us resources, but will they tolerate us if we replace their jobs?"
Those previously employed by the government receive a migrant salary, but not the full pay or benefits as other government employees. Others receive much less.
Kundan Bhan’s source of income is a pension of Rs.1000/month and the wages of her son Raju who is a driver but only works for a few months a year due to limited work availability.
Roshan Lal Raina and his family in Purkhoo Camp Sadly, most of their income is spent on medication. "I cope with Rs.1000 on myself; I spend very little on food and drink. I have a heart problem, a back problem and pains. Before I was very strong and did a lot of work with no help from anyone at all. My Raju was also plump before, now look at him, so skinny, I worry so much for him, I don’t know what to do with Raju, even he is finished with tension." She sheds tears as she talks about her son and shows me the 6-7 types of tablets and in addition the 3-4 bottles of medication she spends her meagre monthly income on.
Two months ago, Kundan Bhan, now in her late forties, went back to her home town in Kashmir Valley for the first time and spoke reminiscently of how well she was received by Muslims. When I asked her what she thought the last 17 years of the turmoil in Kashmir was about, she aptly replied "Who knows, …who even knows who’s firing the bullet."

Roots in Kashmir representatives meet EU Delegation

PRESS RELEASE

Seek help in getting IDP status for the Pandit community

The European Union Delegation which had last month visited Jammu and Kashmir for an on ground assessment of the Kashmir issue today met up with representatives of the Kashmiri Pandits. The European Union delegation had invited representatives of Roots in Kashmir for a dialogue in order to understand the perspective of the Kashmiri Pandits with regard to the Kashmir issue. Roots in Kashmir co-ordinators’ Pawan Durani and Rashneek Kher had an hour long meeting with the EU representatives,The Ambassador of Portugal, Mr.Mendes,Charge’D’Affaires A.I of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Miklavz Borstnik and Dr.Alexander SPACHIS,Minister-Counseller,Political Affairs and Co-ordination,European Union.
The Roots in Kashmir delegates appraised the EU delegation about the ground reality and the plight of Pandits.The EU delegation was also made aware of the reasons for forced exodus and lack of social and political dispensation to the Pandits said Pawan Durani. The EU delegation was briefed on the rather apathetic role of State and Central Governments in rehabilitation of the Pandits. The RIK representatives submitted a 7 page memorandum to the EU delegation the theme of which was to recognize the rights of Kashmiri Pandits and declare them as Internally Displaced People(IDP’s).
Roots in Kashmir appealed to the European Union to recognize Kashmiri Pandits as Internally Displaced People as per the charter of the UNHRC. We also requested the EU delegation to impress upon the Indian Government to declare Kashmiri Pandits as Internally Displaced People since we are not migrants as Govt of India calls us said Rashneek Kher.
The EU delegation enquired about the present status of Pandits and their position in the present geo-political environment. They were also surprised to note that though the Peace initiatives were on the anvil yet not even one Kashmiri Pandit was allowed to visit Pakistan held Kashmir.
The EU delegation very patiently heard and understood the Pandit perspective in the Kashmir issue. A plea by the Pandit delegation that no solution of Kashmir issue be carried out without the involvement of Pandits was also well received by the EU delegation.

ASIA's LAST COLONY-POK(by Mahmood Baig in the Kashmir Herald))

On August 13, 2007, the people of what is called ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir’ [AJK, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). ‘Azad’ means ‘Free’] organized a ‘Long March’ in an assertion of the unity of the AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB, referred to in Pakistan as the ‘Northern Areas’) region, rejecting the arbitrary division of populations within Kashmir, and the restraints on travel and people-to-people contacts that have been imposed by the Pakistani establishment. The traditional routes between AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan have been shut down by the Pakistan Government since its occupation of the region in 1948, and two exclusionary systems of governance have been established in these two constituent units of PoK. The ‘Long March’, from Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK, to Gilgit, organised by the National Students Federation (NSF) and supported by virtually all nationalist Kashmiri organisations in AJK, sought, through acts of civil disobedience, to focus global attention on the backwardness of the state and the excesses of the Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies. The NSF leadership had, consequently, announced that the Long March would not stop at any Pakistan Army checkpost en route to Gilgit, and would not submit to any search or identification processes imposed by Government agencies, as the Pakistani Army was an alien occupying Force. The arduous long march, through high mountain passes and across extended glaciers, and through unmarked routes, claimed the lives of two volunteers, Sardar Amjad Khan and Raja Bahzad Khan, who died when the march hit adverse weather conditions in the upper reaches of the Neelam Valley.
The NSF has repeatedly emphasized the fact that the divided areas of J&K should be united, and the first step in this direction should be the unification of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan under a single State Assembly, and the natural routes between AJK and GB should immediately be restored. The trade between Pakistan and China should pass over these routes through GB and AJK, and this trade should come under the authority and jurisdiction of the administration of united AJK-GB, with royalties for this trade flowing to this administration from Pakistan. By redirecting the Pakistan China trade to these routes, not only would the time and cost of transport of goods to Rawalpindi and Lahore be substantially reduced, the areas along these routes would experience an economic renaissance, with benefits accruing not only to the people of this region, but also to the people of Pakistan. There would also be an inevitable impact on the excesses currently committed by the Pakistan Army in the region.
After 60 years of Pakistani rule, the majority of people in AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan live in conditions of extreme backwardness, and are denied all socio-economic rights and, in the case of GB, constitutional recognition and the most basic political freedoms. For six decades, governments in AJK, which are installed on the commands of the Pakistan Army, have not been able to provide even the most basic necessities to the people. Consequently, the area remains mired in poverty and has been reduced to a playground of the intelligence agencies and jihadi forces. The Government in AJK is virtually a proxy administration appointed by Islamabad. The puppet regime in Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK, needs permission from those at the helm of affairs in Islamabad on even the most minor administrative issue.
AJK suffers immensely across the socio-economic matrix. For instance, there is not a single institute for technical education – a medical or engineering college – in the region even in this modern age. There is no public or private sector industry worth its name. The common people of the region can only secure employment in demeaning menial occupations in the region, or in the lowest echelons of the service industry in Pakistan. People of ‘Azad Kashmir’ can ordinarily be found working in hotels, or as street hawkers in Pakistan’s large cities, such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala. The local population derives no benefits whatsoever from the region’s rich forest, mining and water resources. The forests across vast regions have been clear-felled, and the entire wood has been transported to Pakistani markets or has been exported by Pakistani contractors to other countries. The Pakistan Army is also involved in smuggling the timber of thousands of precious Deodar trees, as well as endangered flora and fauna, out of the region, and into Pakistan.
Islamabad’s rulers have also consistently sought to transform the demographic dynamics of the region. According to one report, "As per the 1991 census, residents of ‘Azad Kashmir’ are mostly Sunni Muslim and predominantly Punjabi-speaking, with barely 20 per cent Kashmiris." Similar patterns of demographic destablisation are being engineered in GB. There has been a large scale expropriation of land and residency rights of the indigenous populations in AJK. Further demographic shifts are being engineered, with an aggressive policy of resettlement of the ethnic Hazarawals and Afghans (Pashtuns) in the Neelam Valley, with large tracts of land being allocated to, or bought by, these outsiders, who are liberally provided residency permits. The State has very large mining resources and, for instance, the Neelam Valley has a significant deposit of unique rubies, which are, again, taken into Pakistan, with no benefits accruing to the people of the region or even of the Neelam Valley.
As regards the region’s tremendous water resources, successive Pakistani Governments, whether military or civilian, have left no stone unturned in their plunder. Pakistan is increasing the height of the Mangla Dam without the consent of the people of AJK. Mirpur town was submerged under the Dam, but the electricity generation is done outside AJK, so that all revenue and power generation benefits go to Pakistan. The Pakistani people have obstructed the construction of dams in their own areas [protests that have thwarted the Kalabagh Dam project in Mianwali District, in the Punjab Province, and bordering the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), are a case in point], but the Army can simply trample over the rights and territory of the Kashmiris. The latest example of this continuing oppression is the raising of the height of the Mangla Dam by 30 feet, as a result of which the people of Mirpur will be displaced once again. Pakistan has never paid any royalties for the Mangla Dam project to AJK, nor is their any intention of making such payments in future. As one commentator has noted, Pakistan argues that the construction of Mangla Dam is "a consequence of the 1961 Indus Basin treaty between India and Pakistan with the World Bank acting as guarantor. The Azad Kashmiris, particularly the Mirpuris, argue that water is a Kashmiri natural resource commandeered by the Pakistani state to the disadvantage of Kashmiris."
There are no representative democratic structures in AJK. Pakistan’s ‘hypocrisy about Kashmir' is visible in the very nature of the equations that have been imposed on AJK and its citizens through the 1974 Interim Constitution, which prescribes various limitations for the ‘autonomy' granted to the region.
Defence, foreign affairs, security and currency are put outside the purview of the ‘autonomy'. Further, apart from the Legislative Assembly, a 14-member ‘AJ&K Council’, has been formed and is headed by the Pakistan Prime Minister as Chairman and the ‘AJ&K’ President as Vice-Chairman. Islamabad nominates five members to the Council from the Members of the Pakistan National Assembly and there are three ex-officio members. The Chairman, along with these federal nominees, gives the Government of Pakistan a majority in the Council as, of the 14 members, there are only six members elected through the ‘AJ&K’ Legislative Assembly. This Council exercises wide ranging powers.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), "Pakistani officials dominate the Council and major bureaucrats occupy key decision making posts… the Chief Secretary, the Inspector-General of Police, the Accountant General and the Finance Secretary (of the region) come from Pakistan." Indeed, a number of secondary or non-strategic administrative posts also go to Pakistanis, and are increasingly dominated by ex-Army officers. Thus, the current Health Secretary of the State is retired Major General Jehangir Anwar Khan, who, ironically, maintains his offices and permanent residence at Islamabad, and not in the State Capital, Muzzafarabad.
Dissent in AJK has been methodically suppressed by Pakistan over the years. The HRCP, in its report, State of Human Rights in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, in July 2004, noted that "Fundamental freedoms, such as the freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association are often infringed in AJK under various pretences, despite claims to the contrary by the officials." Further, the UNHCR Human Rights Watch World Report 2007, stated:
Tight controls on freedom of expression have also been a hallmark of government policy in Azad Kashmir. Pakistan has prevented the creation of independent media in the territory through bureaucratic restrictions and coercion. Publications and literature favouring independence are banned. While militant organizations promoting the incorporation of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir state into Pakistan have had free rein to propagate their views, groups promoting an independent Kashmir find their speech sharply, sometimes violently, curtailed.
Since its formation in 1966, the NSF has been struggling for unity and freedom of the whole of Jammu & Kashmir. NSF units, which exist in all the educational institutions in AJK, work to create ideological awareness among the students. The NSF has worked as the avant garde on issues relating to students and the general public, as a result of which many of its cadres have been victims of excesses by Pakistani intelligence agencies. Many have been imprisoned, hundreds have been prosecuted for sedition, and dozens have been killed. Even today, dozens of NSF cadres are in jail.
The socio-political and cultural landscape of the region has been adversely affected since it has been the epicentre of the Kashmir jihad for a long time. Pakistan military intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has set up the puppet headquarters of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) – a group that can have no independent presence in the State – in Muzaffarabad, while all other groups engaged in violence in Indian administered Kashmir, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al Badr, etc., have camps and offices in the capital and elsewhere in ‘Azad Kashmir’. The Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC), a conglomerate of Pakistan-based jihadi outfits, again run as a proxy of the ISI, also has ‘headquarters’ in Muzaffarabad, though it is incapable of creating or maintaining an independent setup in AJK. The LeT and the JeM, however, while they substantially owe their existence to ISI support, have managed to create a space for themselves in the State, and enjoy at least some support outside the Pakistani establishment and agencies. The principal terrorist training camps still being run in the State belong to the LeT, which has emerged – particularly after the earthquake of October 8, 2005, when state agencies used the LeT to channel much of the relief to affected populations.
The clergy in AJK has always exploited religion to impose the will of the Pakistani secret agencies and the Army, and has always projected the falsehood that any opposition to the Army or its institutions constitutes a threat to Islam. The Kashmiri people have remained silent in this oppression essentially to avert this purported threat and have borne the excesses of Islamabad, and have, in the process, lost not only their fundamental rights, but all rights whatsoever. This exploitation continues, although there is an increasing awareness among the people today, and occasional voices of protest can now be heard against the excesses of the state.
Pakistani intelligence agencies have divided the people of PoK on sectarian lines, and the people live largely under the shadow of insecurity, conflict and violence. Islamist extremists have sought to forcefully impose their perverse notion of Islam on the people of AJK and have, for instance, banned tape recorders and routinely compel people in public places and on public transports to offer namaaz (prayers). Wherever their camps are established, the entry of common people is banned, and the poor people who foraged for forest resources or cut grass in these areas are refused entry. If some people mistakenly enter these areas, they are locked up in the private detention centres maintained by these radical groups.
Conditions changed somewhat after the devastating earthquake of October 2005. A dialogue was established between Pakistan and India, after which the activities of the jihadi groups were somewhat limited. The freedom with which their units moved around in the streets of Muzaffarabad and other parts of AJK has undergone relative curtailment. However, their camps remain in place, and their activities continue. The European Parliament Report, Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects (Rapporteur: Baroness Emma Nicholson, May 2007) stated that "activities of constantly mutating AJK-based terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harakat ul-Mujahedeen have caused hundreds of deaths in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and beyond." The region, it said was, "where fundamental institutions and regional stability have been constantly undermined by organised crime and infiltration across the LoC [Line of Control] by radical Islamist networks exploiting the rugged terrain." While the report laments the "continuing political and humanitarian situation in all four parts of Jammu and Kashmir, it draws particular attention to the democratic deficit in AJK and Gilgit and Baltistan, where, regrettably, Pakistan has consistently failed to fulfil its obligations to introduce meaningful and representative democratic structures."
After the 2005 earthquake, the Pakistani media projected one of the many jihadi groups, the LeT, as a messiah for the affected populations. The leaders of the LeT, who often have the title ‘Abu’ prefixed to their names, used the generous relief aid to accumulate great personal wealth and many of them in fact entered into multiple marriages as a result of their sudden prosperity. Every LeT leader now has at least four wives, and the ‘Abus’ receive allowances for wives, children, house and travel. Even before the earthquake, these groups maintained schools, colleges, hospitals and workshops, but after the earthquake and the generous relief funding to the tune of billions of rupees, the jihadis have opened their institutional complexes, hospitals and madrassas (seminaries) in Muzaffarabad, and these have become places where the common people are subjected to extortion. Such hospitals, constructed on relief funding, do not even offer free treatment. Shavia Nallah, the LeT hospital built on relief funding, has been constructed on a public park, and the adjoining private properties have also been forcibly occupied by the group. When some opposition was generated, LeT militants shot at and wounded one of the local youth. The hospital was eventually set ablaze by the enraged mob on June 11, 2007.
Incipient protests, such as the Long March of August 2007, at best bring the harsh conditions under which the people of PoK live, to the attention of the global community. Regrettably, such attention has been limited, and the free rein that Pakistan enjoys over these regions and its populations, remains largely unaffected by such fleeting interest. It is in the shadow of international neglect that the rights of the people of AJK and of GB have been systematically violated, and a tyrannical order has persisted for over 60 years.

The writer is the President, Jammu and Kashmir National Students Federation in Pak-Occupied Kashmir.

RIK and civil society hold candle light tribute in memory of martyred soldiers in Kashmir

Roots In Kashmir – a frontline group of Kashmiri Pandit community and an initiative of the youth organized a prayer meeting and a candle light vigil at India Gate in memory of Major K.P. Vinay and Major Dinesh Raghuraman who were recently martyred in an operation of the Indian Army in Tangamarg Sector of Kashmir.

People were holding placards, which read, "We Salute our Soldiers", "End Terrorism" and "Terrorists Can Never be Successful" etc. The family of Major Dinesh Raghuraman as well joined them. Eighty year old grandmother of Major Dinesh could be seen accompanied by Dinesh's parents lighting candle in his memory.

Father of Major Dinesh Raghuraman holding a placard.

Eighty year old Grandmother tearfully lighting candles.


Family members of Major Raman paying tributes.

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A huge group of policemen was deployed at India Gate to stop our peaceful prayer meeting. Police tried to scuffle with people present and as well tore posters. Its sad that we as Indian's don't even have a right to remember our soldiers at a memorial specially built for our martyrs.

Police trying to scuffle with common people at the prayer meeting.

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As a nation we have so far remained mute in our admiration of these brave soldiers. Barring one TV Channel who paid tributes to these martyrs the rest have stood their ground of "Unbiased Reportage". It is thus up to us the Citizens of India that we stand by the families in their grief and Pride. It is up to us to show that we care for those who guard our frontiers said one of the protestors.

This as well is a befitting reply to Tangmarg MLA and ex-Housing minister Ghulam Hassan Mir a founder-member of ruling coalition partner PDP who offered fateh, special prayers, to grant heaven for the killed 9 millitants on last Thursday at the militants' graves two days after the three-day gun battle said another.

It is time nation and the media wakes up to this menance which doesnt have any qualms about attacking any religion,creed or caste.IOnly yesterady have we seen how these barbaric forces have attacked Ajmer Sharif with a view to create communal tensions.The fidayeen Attack on CRPF camp in Srinagar should silence all those who are for troop reduction and thus giving a free passage to terrorists.Unless the government comes down with a strong hand on the terrorists we may have to do these tributes time and again,which we are sure makes all of us sad and worried about the state of our nation.

Common citizens holding placards.



Media Reports

The Tribune (Picture)- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071013/delhi.htm

Kashmirnewz.com - Kashmiri Pandit Group flays minister for guerillas prayers

Purdafash.com - Candle Light Tribute for Martyred Soldiers

Also in The Asian Age, The Hindustan Times, Daily Excelsior etc.

Lest we forget...they laid their lives for us.

Don't let them go... These were the last words of critically wounded Major.Raghuraman fighting terrorists in Tangmarg sector of Jammu and Kashmir. True to their word Major KP Vinay and Major Raghuraman ensured none of the nine infiltrators could reach the valley.

Two young soldiers of the Indian Army, one who was about to be a father and another to be a bride-groom were martyred on 3 rd of October, while fighting forces of evil. They gave up their lives in the hope that this nation can sleep in peace.

As a nation we have so far remained mute in our admiration of these brave soldiers. Barring one TV Channel who paid tributes to these martyrs the rest have stood their ground of "Unbiased Reportage". It is thus up to us the Citizens of India that we stand by the families in their grief and Pride. It is up to us to show that we care for those who guard our frontiers.

Let us all assemble at India Gate on Friday,12th Oct, 07 at 6PM to pay tribute to these brave sons of the soil.

"Roots in Kashmir"

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For Further Information plz contact:

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Rashneek Kher - 9810049979

Sunil Bhat - 9911783469

Aditya Raj Kaul - 9873297834

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Please spread the word and forward this to as many as possible.