...And the world remained silent !!!

The pain of loosing one's home never goes away...this is a pain which kills one slowly.

For about half a million Kashmiri Pandits, the pain has become a way of life now... 16 long years of painful existence.

Yet, the whole world still remains oblivious to this suffering…

Why blame the rest of world… when even our own country doesn’t care. For the politicians in the parliament, Kashmiri Pandits aren’t vote’s enough to bother for. For the ‘intellectuals’ - talking about suffering of Hindu’s is not the right thing to be seen doing. For the flag-bearers of human-rights – half a million Indians suffering in exile in their own land isn’t an issue – after-all they are victims of Islamic fundamentalism; and it’s communal to criticize anything Muslim. For the flag bearers of Hindutva, bus journeys to Lahore are more romantic. For the media, Kashmiri Pandits don’t make the right headline… after-all they are Hindu’s – and they have been just in exile just for 16 years yet. A story on a riot by ‘minority’ in Baroda over demolition of a roadside mosque makes a better TRP; maybe even an award at the year end.

A short film – just 18 minutes long – “…And the world remained Silent” is the summary of this decade and a half long tragedy lived by this small community. For those who care, at least now – don’t remain silent…

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=842219646390515565&q=kashmiri+pandit

(Directed by Ashok Pandit; Panun Kashmir)

Apologists of Islamist terror

By Kalavai Venkat

Every time Islamist terrorists bomb a train or a civic building, apologists quickly offer two explanations: First, poverty is forcing some Muslims to take to terrorism. Second, Hindus have alienated the minority Muslims, some of whom have taken to terrorism out of frustration.

Let us put this "blame-it-on-the-victim" apology to litmus test. In Jammu & Kashmir, seven lakh Hindus have been ethnically cleansed. Out of those, four lakh face deprivation, poverty and deaths in refugee camps. How many Kashmiri Hindus have become terrorists? Tibetan Buddhists have been expelled from their country. Their spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, lives as a refugee in India. How many of them have become terrorists?

Millions of Hindus and Buddhists have been raped, butchered and ethnically cleansed from Bangladesh. They live in abject poverty in refugee camps in India. How many of them have become terrorists? So, the reason has to be something other than poverty. Could it be the alleged alienation of Muslims?

Jews came as refugees to India 2,000 years ago, Orthodox Christians 1,500 years ago and Parsis 1,100 years ago. Instead of alienating them, Hindus encouraged them to retain their uniqueness and flourish.
These groups produced some of India's renowned industrialists, generals, educationists and lawyers.

In every society - France, Spain, the UK or the US - Muslims complain of alienation. There are numerous immigrant and minority groups - Jews, Chinese, Indians, Filipinos - that live in these societies but never complain about alienation. They are content educating their children and enjoying a good life. It seems that every society singles out Muslims for alienation. It must be a global conspiracy against the "religion of peace".

How about some introspection? Muslims ruled most of India for nearly a millennium and imposed the jiziya on the majority Hindus. If the Muslims are still educationally backward, they have only themselves to blame. They did not value education. They opted to put their daughters behind a burqa, instead of sending them to schools. They preferred the madarsa education to modern scientific education. Whose fault is this?

Neither poverty nor imagined alienation causes terrorism. Many terrorists are well educated and affluent. They have not personally faced deprivations in life. They do not know their victims personally.
They select their victims in a cold and calculated manner so as to inflict maximum damage.

The jihadis are influenced by Islamic fundamentalism that teaches Muslims to alienate themselves from "infidels". Islam sanctifies the killing of those it has arbitrarily branded "infidels." Even Prophet Mohammad is said to have persecuted the pagans, Jews and Christians.

Millions of madarsas across the country brainwash gullible Muslim children into emulating the Islamic fundamentalism. These madarsas impart obscure ideas in the name of education, and inculcate anger and imagined notions of persecution in the minds of Muslim children.
Islamic mosques complement this paranoia with weekly doses of impassioned appeals.

Is it a wonder that some adolescents exposed to this heady mix of intolerance end up as terrorists? Nearly 200 people have been bombed to death in Mumbai. Hundreds more have been maimed. They have left behind orphans, widows and aging parents. The jihadi fire has torched their hopes and dreams.

Let us sympathise with the innocent victims of Islamist terrorism, not with the terrorists. It is time to call a spade a spade.

With Friends like these...

'Arjun encouraging terrorism, sack him'

Who needs enemies like ISI and Pakistan...when you have friends inside like Arjun and Antulay...?

The height of vote bank politics, the one upmanship against each other to be seen the greater companion of the evil... has reached the limits... And this man 'Arjun' aspires to become the prime minister of the country...

Another man who aspires to become the PM - Mulayam is working on creating a Muslim-pradesh to get one-up on others...

God only can save India...from these politicians.... India can only then think of saving itself from the evil designs of ISI, Pakistan and Lashkar and Al-Qaeda's....

An Open Letter to Kashmiri Muslims

- by Bilhan Koul
Dear Kashmiri Muslims,
I don�t know that how to address you but following in the best secular traditions & taken by a leaf out of Bellwood film I would say Salaam Namaste.
It seems that you have lodes of questions for Indians & more specifically for us Kashmiri Pandits. But I too have my usual dose of questions for you. Make no mistake about it I will begin with history because dispute in Kashmir is direct consequence of history & it is history, which has, make Kashmir Islamic. I have little problem Kashmiris following Islam. Was not ancient Kashmir Buddhist, Pagan, Naga & Brahamanical then why not Islamic you may say? My answer is Islam has become less of a religion & more a political one spawned by Arabs. In other words Islam has become imperial & is fast losing its identity as religion. This has led followers of Islam to believe that Kashmir is part of west Asia & not Indian subcontinent. If it sounds crude to you forgive me I do not have refiner language to express this sentiment. This is in the context of any no. of Kashmiri Muslims believing that India has no right on Kashmir. If it has no right on Kashmir then what right it has on
Himachal Pradesh. I suppose you have taken the cue. The separatist movement in Kashmir is communal. It is based on supposition that since Kashmiris are Islamic it has veto power for its separation from Indian subcontinent.
The second point which I wish to underscore is that most of Kashmiris are brothers & sisters of Kashmiri Pnndits. If your ancestor was forced to abondon your ties with me then how I am to blame. Blame ancestors of people like Syed Ali Shah Geelani. They were made to flee Central Asia & thought that Kashmir would be heaven only if Kashmiris converted & under the guise of Islamic equality foreigners like Geelani will become natives. Well done! At least I congratulate foreign Sayed Sufis who thought such a Ingenious method to rule over Kashmir. Now since you have converted, it is now imagined by you that conversion was peaceful. Now why are Kashmiri Pandits in 21st century not embracing Islam in droves? Why they left Kashmir in 1990 in order to preserve their identity but converted in 15th century? Because in 1990 there was opportunity to save both religion & skin were none existed in 15th century Kashmir. Elementary Sherlock Holmes would have screamed when given this logic!
But logic is deliberately confused in Kashmir lest converted Muslims become less comfortable. Some of your intellectuals do not get tired of telling that conversion was peaceful & gradual. Gradual then why father Xavier who visited Kashmir with Akbar tells us that valley population is almost all Muslim. Remember Akbar visited Kashmir only 200 years after Sultan Sikander�s frenzy unleashed on helpless Kashmiris. Some of you never get tired of telling that Islam spread through logic & reason but why valley people not get converted to Christianity when much of light & scientific achievements of present world is spread by European who are Christians.
Why Kashmiris got converted to Islam? Because Islam came as a conquering religion & Kashmiris stood no chance. Of course, you can say that distinction between Hindu & Muslims were not as fine as they are now. I have no problem with this argument But if you believe this argument seriously you will still find that you are losing the argument. That means these Kashmiri Pandits who resisted conversion or fled are to be put on higher pedestal because they were conscious of their identity and those who converted were not. That means those who converted you thought of you as stupid fellows who could be dictated terms.
I am also one of those who seriously believe that Identity crisis of the past has made some of you more zealots.
You cry that India is an occupying force in Kashmir but do nothing when it is presented to you that Islam is also foreign. You cry that Iraq & Afghanistan has been illegally occupied by America but fail to mention that Sayed Sufis were also foreigners who converted Kashmiris. If you say Sayed Spread light in Kashmir then I am entitled to say that America is spreading light in Iraq & Afghanistan. Make no mistake about it I sincerely believe that it is spreading light. Now see delicious Irony in all this.
Pandits who resisted conversion are the ones who criss cross the globe comfortably in America or in Europe. But those of you who converted through force are vary of foreign influence. Is it because the trauma of forced conversion still lingers & has got such a hold on your unconscious self that you misread India as a foreign country while as right through history India & Kashmir were twin sisters.
Before signing off, I have an interesting query for you. Your Historians say that Mughals were responsible for usurping freedom of Kashmir, but why not Sultans & more specifically why not Shah Mir. Is it because Shah Mir signifies to you Muslim conquest & hence introduction of Islam in Kashmir, the topic which you do not want to be discussed. In the end I wish that you ponder over my Questions with sincerity & honesty.

Thanks.
Your Sincerely
Bilhan Koul S/O Prof M.L.Koul
H. No. 64 Sec 2
Pamposh Colony
Janipur
Jammu

Kasuri speaks what the real agenda is...

India terms Kasuri's statement on blasts appalling- The Times of India

Pakistani establishment always does a great PR job - no other way they are still a very good Western ally, while being the chief patron nation for all jehadi forces.

However, this statement from Pakistani Foreign minister Khursid Mehmoom Kasuri comes straight from the core agenda... and he forgot to run it through the PR translators; something that his president Musharraf did very well while condemning the blasts yesterday.

And Kasur is telling us just what the establishment has set as goals and objectives for their ISI. Pakistan has an unending agenda to keep India bleeding through a proxy war. They tried this four times through overt wars; failed miserably from 1960's to Kargil. A covert proxy war serves them very well.

They barely spend much on it either - afterall there are lots of 'out of job' jehadi's to redeploy. There are enough petro dollars to keep them funded.

Pakistan has a one-point agenda to keep India bleeding - that keeps them together as a nation and keeps them running. If there is no anti-India agenda, Pakistan will disintegrate...

So they dont really want a solution with India...on Kashmir or whatever. Its a fallacy to believe that solving Kashmir will solve all this for good between India and Pakistan... afterall, they didn't fund and aid Khalistani terrorists in 1980's for Kashmir problem...

Z A Bhutto (Pak PM in 1970's) openly described it as a 1000 years war Pakistan will wage against India - its just been few decades yet. What he didn't say was whether it would be a overt or a covert war.

Its going to such a proxy war for years to come... India has to tighten its belt and hit back at terrorism. No political solution will solve this...

7/11 Mumbai

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs

India yet again under terror attack...

174 already dead in just a mere 12 minutes of attacks... 7 attacks on the lifeline of Mumbai (Bombay). And still counting...as there are hundreds lying injured in various hospitals fighting for their life...

Why these attacks today...? News channels and politicians will continue to debate and find connections and coincidences with the 5 attacks on tourists in Kashmir today...

But our politicians are a confused lot - what else can you make of statements "Terrorists are suspected to be behind this"...

Pakistan President has already done his formality of condemning the attacks... I am curious if he had already issued the statement before the series of blasts began...

God bless India...

More attacks on Tourists...And a conspiracy theory...

Four blasts rock Srinagar, 4 killed

How naive are the tourists...? How do these folks make plans to spend summer in
this place with their families, without caring a damn to at the newspapers? Is Indian middle class really so gullible and naive - that people would fall for "all is hunky dory" messages from Kashmir politicians or get trapped by some lucrative cheap deals from travel agents.

Come on! Doesn’t a tourist care to check on a place - a place which is well known for all the dance of death going on there for last 16 years...

I personally dont agree even with my fellow Kashmiri Pandits visiting the valley just to make a quick darshan at Khirbawani or just to relive their memories of the motherland. But then at least Kashmiri Pandits have an emotional bond - with the valley. I wouldn't probably mind dying either on the soil I was born in.

But what drives a Gujju or a bong tourist to go there and risk his life, along with that of his family - that too go in a chartered bus with a GJ-xxxx number plate. Beats me!

Having been the sole Kashmiri almost all the time at my workplace, I often get asked this question by colleagues - "How safe is it to visit Kashmir? Can I go there for my honeymoon?"...
Earlier I used to straightaway tell them - that they would be mad to do so.
Lately, people come back with follow up questions - "My friend's friend went recently to Patnitop" or "My relative stayed in Dal Gate and nothing happened to them"... I don’t know if they read these news items at all.

Recently a very senior person in my org, on a visit from US office, had been to Srinagar as well - just days after the last May31st attacks. He shared an interesting news bit.

Local folks in the valley had reasoned the attacks as -"The Himachal tourism industry got a huge boom when Srinagar tourism went down in 90's... but the revival of tourism in Kashmir
is hitting the Himachal industry hard now. So its the Himachali tourism lobbies which have paid the jihadi's to cause these disruptions - so that the tourists again opt for Himachal".

Sounds like an interesting theory - my only concern is - all along these people
were giving us to believe that the armed struggle was for self-determination
and freedom and all those hallowed ideals. Local politicians and Hurriyat have condemned these attacks and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has alluded to the same conspiracy theory as well - but who are they condemning ? The very jihadi's they invited into the valley.

Are they admitting finally that the jihadi’s are nothing but "for-hire mercenaries" ? Mercenaries who came in earlier funded by petro dollars from ISI to implement a religious agenda; and are now looking for newer means of revenue generation.

National Interest...

A Muslim Indian's Speak & Urdu Poetry Blog/Website: World has 218 more countries than US and UK

A blog I have started to visit regularly of late. I am impressed with Adnan's fluency and writing prowess...and the religious regularity with which he finds time to write on his blog. I am slowly become a regular at this site...

But, ideologically I find myself at loggerheads with the way this new friend of mine presents view points. Even though his claim is that of secularism, I find it somehow intriguingly similar to the p-secular brigades way of looking at things.
Anyway, my intent is not to comment on 'indscribe' in specific, but the general way of thinking of a certain mass in India... which includes the leftists and the muslims. The thought came forth from a writeup in this blog, to which I have posted my comments already.

Earlier also, Muslims in all cities in India erupted in large groups (and equally supported by leftists) in favour of Iran on the nuclear issue. Across various towns, post friday prayer congregations turned into a "we-want" drama in favour of Iran. No one seemed to reason why I India should vote in favour of Iran at all... the whole issue was merely painted with the psentiment brush. Leftists also wanted the vote changed - demanding that India vote in favour of Iran on the nuclear issue - simply because Iran is a large muslim nation and there are muslims in India who feel strongly in favour of Iran. Is that reason enough for India to surrender its own national interests - and allow another 'not so successful'  state (not that failed state is too strong a word) on its doorsteps to become nuclear. This would add to the already nuclear neighbourhood (with Pakistan/China around) which isnt friendly towards us...making India all the more vulnerable.

Yet, this simple national interest isn't clear to our leftists and imam's...

I dont expect anything better from Leftists... they are the one's who wanted India to surrender to China in the Sino-Indian war in 1960's... they always want India to sign treaties in favour of Beijing... Communism is a greater interest for them - than patriotism. Ironically, their communist lords in Beijing have surrendered to capitalism far more than the liberalized India has. They are scared of liberalization in India, but they are happy that China keeps getting more and more FDI.

Similarly, the imam's probably want the GOI to invite Hamas and Al-Qaida to set up SEZs in India.