Snow

Mummy! It is snowing! I cried.

Yes, it was just like that fairy tale.

Just like that dream.

The picture had indeed frozen.

Little snowy pearls in front of the great green conifer whirls.

With frozen snow islands at the tree feet

and the big brown mountain beneath.

They stopped and smiled,

Dazed perhaps by their own beauty.

I stood there too, in open mouthed wonder,

Thanking the Lord.

I had finally been blessed.

Blessed, as I saw the first real falling snow of my life.

As I saw the true colours of my land, for once in my life.

So whats the big deal, you may say.

When a Kashmiri sees falling snow 13 years after she is born, it is big deal.

When a Kashmiri sees that snow from the window of a hotel room and not her own doorstep, it is a big deal.

When a Kashmiri is as much a tourist in Kashmir as a Canadian, it is a big deal.

And when the snow that should have been the most routine part of your life comes as an out-of-world-surprise, you wonder what else you must have lost.

What other parts of you lie dead and buried in that soil.

The war against my identity seemed to have won;

I will always be an incomplete soul.

But the missing parts, ironically, have also been my link.

Because though today I don’t own an inch of land in my land, as long as that soil has my dead remains, Kashmir will be mine and I shall live.

- Radhika Koul is a high school student here in New Delhi. She can be reached at radhika.koul@gmail.com

THE ‘K’ FACTOR - Irrationality of rational realist films..

Films From Kashmir,
Films For Kashmiris,
Without Kashmiri Pandits!

In the world of documentaries, every artist has the freedom to choose and deliver at his own will. All the more better if supported by the government and masses. As every filmmaker tricks the audience into believing his theme as abject truth, the masses too tend to drown themselves into it.

This weekend proved to be a crammed package of films on J&K. As one channel flashed a documentary based on a famous poem, the other channel followed with a special report on the children of conflict. Like always this viewer remained glued hoping against hope to catch a minority face…but I am glad my hopes were not raised. The first film reiterated their ‘freedom struggle’ as ‘satyagraha’; the other believed that the children of the valley are the worst victims.

Once more we had to watch the pain of the majority (Muslim) community, their kith and kin and their troubles caused at the hands of the ruthless Indian government. Once again the filmmakers decided to ignore that ‘there once lived a minority that now has the whole galaxy as their home except their own valley’. It is always troublesome to watch young lives suffer, their faces becoming a paradox to peace. But to believe that the conflict war zone weighed heavy only on population presently in the valley, one is mistaken.

As I saw snowy white faces of little kids in Kashmir, as cameras zoomed on the cherry red glow on these cheeks; I suddenly saw myself in Jammu. The same white cheeks of some Kashmiris have turned coal black; the only margin remained the ‘athoor’ dangling from female ears. When I heard a completely tanned teacher recite a Sanskrit prayer at the overcrowded Purkhoo camp and saw him scold some students in Kashmiri, the irony of calling them Kashmiris struck like a sword.

The above statement is anything but racist. The tanned skin mirrored years of hopelessness and eternal toil seep out with sweat on their faces. There was no red glow I could zoom into. I saw frustration and frustration little more. The news channel cut into a break which brought me back to my room and I lay frozen with the remote, knowing not what to do. At times I wonder if Hindus of Kashmir really exaggerate their pain or is it because we form the majority of this nation that we fail to make good news stories as victims.

Some refer to the Jammu refugee camps as a political gimmick, but it is the cowardice of educated filmmakers that they use their prerogative to ignore us. Ajay Raina, Ashok Pandit and Rajesh Jhala are some who dared to shed light on the issue. But then looking at the statistics, for one documentary on the Hindu minority there are ten for the majority. A film on the desecration of temples is termed communal while stories on Ayodhya/AFSPA are screened worldwide. Surprisingly the filmmakers and reporters who glorify the terrorists as ‘saviours of Kashmiris’ saw the same Kashmiris boycott separatists to vote for a record 65% in the recently held elections.

Howzzaat.!!

There is no doubt that films cannot transform the world, they do not possess that much power. However, as a filmmaker one still tries to use this freedom of expression to put forth the hidden truth. Every draconian law and every suppressed community has a filmmaker to boast of… except for the Hindus in forced exile. Some day in near future we too shall have a document of minority in the valley that the world can peak through- a document that delves deep into broken temples, broken families, broken hearts… above all a broken state.

Finally to conclude with how ignored we remain here’s the following truth- When Pakistan sponsored terrorism hit the valley, Kashmiri Pandits screamed their hearts out. When their homes burnt to ashes in front of their wet eyes, they stood up in protest. The Indian government was asked to take stringent steps. No one heard Kashmiri Pandits back then… No one heard them now as Mumbai burnt.

And yet we all know the truth. Don’t we?

(The author Pooja Shali is a Mass Communication masters student at New Delhi's A.J.K. MCRC. She can be reached at poojashali@gmail.com)

Governance and rebellion

Nepal's maoist-rebel-turned-PM says that heading a rebellion was easier than governing the country.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/being-a-rebel-is-easier-than-governing-says-.../400506/

The man who led a decade long civil unrest hiding in the forests and terrorising opponents has accepted this humble fact. With guns on your side and no accountability and of course the halo of a hero surrounding you it is so much easier to quell all and any kind of opposition. But governing, even a country the size of Nepal is a mean task. The day to day squabbles of what is now succinctly described as bijli-sadak-paani may seem as boring and unexciting and actually bourgoise to some, but nothing but love for your country can make one do this task efficiently.

Perhaps, our separatist friends can take a clue from his troubles. For more than 60 years now, India has ploughed on to give some semblance of administration and governance to the troubled region, getting a train to its icy heights is just the latest feather in the cap. If you factor in the blatant hate and disregard for any form of Indian authority in Kashmir, then however weak a governance India has provided to an unthanking public, the fact remains that it still has.

One may argue that some semblance of governance even the British gave to India, and that is true! In fact, many of our present day administrative systems come from the Britishers, but they looted our resources in return while India has done no such thing to Kashmir, if anything India has painstakingly assured that Kashmir's riches remain within the region itself, even incurring the anger of the rest of the country.

Homage to our Mentor - Padmashri J.N. Kaul 'Papaji'

Padmashri J.N. Kaul

13-10-1924 to 16-12-2008

With profound grief and sorrow we inform you that our dearest Padamshri Jagan Nath Kaul, fondly called Papaji has left for his heavenly abode on December 16, 2008 morning (5.45am) in Faridabad, India.

Padmashri J.N. Kaul, was father to lakhs of underprivileged children. A visionary, he remained lifelong associated with philanthropic and humanitarian work. Replica of Kashmir’s 'Hari Parbat', in Faridabad was his idea. In his able guidance, Kashmiri Sewak Samaj Faridabad and Roots In Kashmir organised Navreh celebrations each year atop Aravali Hills at Hari Parbat, Anangpur with more zeal and vigour.

Shri Kaul was among those few Kashmiri leaders who were institution builders. He has been responsible for single handedly launching and initiating a number of institutions in the field of social welfare, education, culture and religious heritage. After the forced displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, he had to plunge into one more ardous field of helping his fellow communitymen in exile.

Papaji has been the recipient of many awards and honour's including "Padmashri" presented by the President of India, Raja Rammohan Roy Teacher's Award, G.D. Birla Award, Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award, Twentieth Century Achievement Award (Given by the American Biographical Institute USA), Dadabhai Naroji New Millennium Award, Satpal Mittal National Award and Vayoshrestha Award (Ministry of Social Justice).

We pledge to follow his footsteps and spread the message of love & service to the underprivileged, as he said: "When we give a child home, we are expressing our belief in life and the fundamental good in people."

Activity with SOS Children's Villages' in India

In 1963 Hermann Gmeiner met Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, who was extremely impressed by the SOS Children's Village concept. Under the auspices of his daughter Indira Gandhi a committee and subsequently an association were founded, which immediately hastened the realization of the first SOS Children's Village Greenfields near Delhi. Of the founding members of the Indian SOS Children's Villages Association, J.N. Kaul became the first village director who in subsequent decades would greatly influence the SOS Children's Village work in this poor and densely populated country.

In 1967 Mrs. Indira Gandhi handed the chairmanship of the committee to Mrs. Tara Ali Baig, who presided over the SOS Children's Villages Association in India until her death in 1989. Since then Padashmi Shri J.N. Kaul has been heading the entire SOS Children's Village work in India.

Peace to his soul.

News in grief:

1. PTI - http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812161612.htm
2. Indian Express - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/social-activist-j-n-kaul-passes-away/399419/
3. Kashmir Live - http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/Noted-Kashmiri-activist-JN-Kaul-passes-away/399220.html
4. Daily Excelsior - http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08dec17/state.htm#15

A tribute by the youth of..

Roots in Kashmir (RIK)

…A Worldwide Kashmiri Pandit Youth Initiative

www.rootsinkashmir.org/

www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/

e-mail: contact@rootsinkashmir.org/

Boycott the boycotters....

As figures for the first two phases of polling poured in, gloom must have descended on the faces of the separatists. Kashmiris have in a way shown them what they want. In an year where "the Kashmir Experts", the liberal left columnists, half baked journalists and jesters like Jug Suraiya had told us, it is all over for India, the people of Kashmir have just announced their belief in Indian democracy. Huge queues at the polling booths may just show the direction of the wind.

With rabble rousers like Yasin Malik, Bitta Karate and their ilk firmly in where they belong to, the polls so far have been almost bereft of any violence.

The most amazing feature of these polls is the defiance of an ordinary Kashmiri.The courage and resilience that the Kashmiris have shown against the army of self styled commanders of Jihad.It is about time that Sajjad Lone(the cry baby),Mirwaiz(what happened to his Al Umar Mujahideen) and Syed Ali Shah Geelani(May he get well soon) hide their faces for who knows what ordinary Kashmiris have on their mind next.

"I am voting for peace. Democracy should grow in Kashmir valley. My vote is to defeat the separatists and Hurriyat voices in Kashmir and strengthen nationalist leadership," said Omarkar Nath of tulmulla village of Ganderbal segment.

A cartoon on 'J&K Elections' which appeared in 'The Hindu' newspaper on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008.

An elderly Kashmiri woman voter displays her ink-marked finger after she cast her vote during the second phase of local elections in Lar, 35 km (21 miles) east of Srinagar November 23, 2008. (Reuters Photo)

Mehtab Wani, an elderly Kashmiri woman, displays her voter identity card as she stands in a queue to cast vote outside a polling station in Lar, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Srinagar, India, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. (AP Photo)

Jalal-Ud-Din, a physically challenged man, is carried by an unidentified relative after casting his vote in Benhama, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Srinagar, India, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. (AP Photo)

Bashir Ahmed, a physically challenged man leaves polling station after casting his vote in Barsoo, some 28 kilometers (17 miles) north of Srinagar, India, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. (AP Photo)

Lawyers or separatists? - Hindustan Times

Aurangzeb Naqshbandi, Hindustan Times

There is an unusual addition to the list of separatist organisations in J&K — the Kashmir Bar Association (KBA).

According to the Union Home Ministry, the Bar is one of 49 separatist organisations currently operating in the state. This disclosure was made in response to a Right to Information application filed by Aditya Raj Kaul, a Kashmiri Pandit youth activist.

The Bar has questioned the government’s decision. It says its objectives are apolitical and, hence, it cannot be categorised as a separatist organisation. “The KBA is a body of lawyers practising in the J&K High Court. The advocate general, government advocates, public prosecutors and standing counsels for various government departments, public sector undertakings and banks are its members,” said its president Mian Abdul Qayoom.

The high court gives licenses to lawyers after verifying their antecedents and after the police have certified they aren't involved in illegal activities. “The license can be cancelled if a member is found guilty of professional misconduct,” he added.

What may have prompted the government to make this categorisation is the fact that the KBA constitution calls for finding ways to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people. But Qayoom finds nothing wrong in this. “When India and Pakistan are engaged in negotiations on Kashmir, why can’t the KBA or its members strive for resolution of the contentious issue?”

Legal experts said the government should clarify. “Any group whose objective is to enable J&K to secede from India can be called a separatist organisation. We don’t know the objectives of the KBA,” said former law minister Shanti Bhushan.

Qayoom said it was the professional duty of Bar members to provide legal aid to those (read militants) who approach them. “By doing so, they can’t be said to have indulged in any illegal act.”

He also rubbished charges that the KBA prevented lawyers from pleading the cases of accused in the Srinagar sex scandal involving ministers, legislators and police officers. “We didn’t pass any resolution, neither did we stop any member from representing the accused. The decision was left to the lawyers.”

Link - http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=9fd22615-efc7-4395-9e82-d8b23d786a15&&Headline=Lawyers+or+separatists%3f

Response to - letters@hindustantimes.com