Ajeeb shor tha

Ajeeb shor tha jisnay mujhay jagaya tha
Andhera khwab tha , chehra nazar na aaya tha

Palat raha tha jo kal kuch puranay waraq
Kisi ka naam kitaboN mein baar baar aaya tha

Haseen waqt tha jab deyar-e-ghair meiN bhi
Tera khayal kabhi taaroN ki sham laaya tha

Hain is qadar pur-painch tere shahr ki raaheiN
Bhatak gaya woh jisnay raasta dikhaya tha

Usi ke dam se hui haaN aam meri ruswayyi
Woh shakhs jisko kabhi raazdaaN banaya tha

Woh log soye haiN bewaqt khawab-e-masti meiN
Payaam jinko kabhi jaagnay ka aaya tha

Tamaam zulm ki buniyaad chand ahl-e-hakam
Na janay kyoon inheiN hamnay khuda banaya tha

Utho jo saath chalo, Tanzil bhi chalay shayd
Bhataktay raastoN nay usko bhi kal bulaaya tha

Shaakh khyaloN meiN

Shaakh khyaloN meiN shajar ho jayegi
Raat KhwaboN mein sehar ho jayegi

Syaah sheeshoN meiN chhipi hai chashm-e-jaaN
Umr chhaoN meiN basar ho jayegi

Zindagi saloN meiN guzri be-nishaN
Maut lamhoN mein khabar ho jayegi

Shokh nazroN meiN bujhe kuch jalte teer
Aag seenoN meiN zahar ho jayegi

Dil sitaroN meiN hua be-abroo
Khak-saaroN meiN qadar ho jayegi

Ashk aankhoN meiN nehaN aur lab khamosh
Aah lafzoN meiN sharar ho jayegi




Shaakh - Branch
Shajar – Tree
Sehar - Dawn
Chashm-e-Jaan Eyes of the soul/beloved
Be-nishaaN Unremarkable
Shokh Naughty
NazroN Eyes
Be-abroo Not respected/ Lowly
Khaak-saar Modest/Humble
Qadar Respect/Value
Ashk Tears
Lab Lips
Aah Grief
Sharar Spark

Kashmir’s terrible thirst for freedom

Freedom’s terrible thirst, flooding Kashmir,
is bringing love to its tormented glass,
Stranger, who will inherit the last night of the past?
Of what shall I not sing, and sing?

Agha Shahid Ali, Kashmiri poet

According to independent estimates, close to hundred thousand dead and ten thousand missing in two decades of armed resistance with the Indian State and yet Kashmiris’ thirst for freedom seems far from extinguished. With the armed militancy at its lowest ebb and two relatively peaceful elections in the state, the level of protests and violence which have rocked the state over the last three summers are a crude reminder that the issue is far from settled. The immediate causes of these summer unrests have been Amarnath land transfer row in May ‘08, rape and murder of two young women in Shopian in May ’09 and fake encounters for rewards in cash and kind in Machil in April ’10. These incidents which have been occurring at an annual frequency for last three years have completely shattered the charade of normalcy in the state.

The new breed of young protestors who appeared on the streets after the aforementioned incidents have not taken to guns as their predecessors but resorted to pelting stones in face-to-face clashes with the police and paramilitary forces. The response of the security forces has been swift and heavy handed leaving more than sixty people, predominantly teenagers dead and scores injured over last two months. Each death has led to another round of protest leading to more deaths. Even the women and children have come on the streets raising their voices against the state. The idea of extreme oppression under the Indian military occupation has taken root again in the hearts and minds of people and another round of alienation with the Indian state seems underway. For the people of Kashmir, the only escape from this perceived oppression seems to be ‘Azaadi’ through the exercise of their right to self-determination.

This renewed vigour for self determination stems from the complete inertia and inaction of the governments involved and unabashed abuse of human rights by the rotten elements within the security establishment under the aegis of Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Under the provisions of this act even a non-commissioned officer can shoot to kill and he need only be "of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order" and only give "such due warning as he may consider necessary". The army can destroy property on the mere suspicion of being a militant hide-out or an ammunition dump. The army can arrest anyone without a warrant, who has committed, is suspected of having committed or of being about to commit, a cognisable offense and use any amount of force "necessary to effect the arrest". Army can enter and search without a warrant to make an arrest or to recover any property, arms, ammunition or explosives which are believed to be unlawfully kept on the premises with the use of force necessary for the search. The army is supposed to handover the arrested persons to the nearest police station with ‘least possible delay’ but this delay is not quantified at all leading to arbitrary interpretations. Moreover, no legal proceeding can be brought against any member of the armed forces acting under the AFSPA, without the permission of the Central Government. This section leaves the victims of the armed forces abuses without a remedy.

These sweeping powers under AFSPA have resulted in innumerable incidents of arbitrary detention, torture, rape, and looting by security personnel. Yet, the Central Government has consistently refused to give permission to prosecute many of those accused. There are many cases where even after CBI enquiry and charge sheets, trial is yet to begin. The delivery of justice has been completely obstructed through the application of AFSPA to cover the blatant abuses. The National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) jurisdiction to J&K was restricted under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and at present it has negligible jurisdiction over human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. NHRC Chairman K.G. Balakrishnan as quoted by The Hindu recently, said that he wanted these restrictions removed while hinting that the limitations were binding the hands of the NHRC in providing succour to people of the valley who could have grievances on account of human rights

By the Government of India’s own admission as late as June 2010, there are only 500 armed militants now left in the valley. This number according to estimates used to be 35,000-40,000 during the peak years of insurgency. Yet, there has hardly been any scaling down in the presence of security forces in Kashmir since then. The number of security forces varies between different estimates from 400,000 to 700,000. Obviously such a huge presence during the relative years of peace and the frequent incidents of human rights violations by the security forces has taken its toll on the collective psyche of the people of Kashmir.

Yet, the plight of Kahsmiris has not received the same level of attention in the Indian mainstream as other acts of oppression around the country and the World. Civil society by and large except for a few lonely voices has been impervious to the goings-on in Kashmir and in most instances blamed the Kashmiris themselves for inviting their predicament. The primary reason for this insensitivity seems to be prevalent myths about the issue fed through well oiled propaganda machinery to the people of this country. For the recent round of unrest, first there were stories doing the rounds about how the stonepeltors were being paid daily wages and being radicalized by Lashkar-e-Toiba. Soon after that some ‘intercepted conversations’ about the plans to instigate the protestors appeared in the media between an alleged aide of a separatist leader and militants across the border. Then somebody alleged that there are terrorists hiding in the crowd who are directing the protests. A new theory appeared that the protests are limited to certain pockets which are known for Anti India activities. Then came another submission about how security forces did not have any option but to respond with force. Finally somebody came up and said that the youth are alienated because they did not see a future due to lack of educational and employment opportunities.

All these myths are being created to discredit a people’s struggle and dehumanize the Kashmiris’ inalienable demand for their fundamental right to live in their own lands with dignity. Any attempt to question the conduct of the security forces is met with shrill jingoistic response and the chorus of armed forces being the most credible institution in our country. The bogeyman of radicalization is erected in order to link the Kashmiri struggle to the idea of an insane and senseless global Jihad, thereby undermining its credibility whatsoever. The issues of economic impoverishment, unemployment and education are brought in to treat Kashmir as an issue that is same as what rest of India is grappling with. The state government is blamed for the current events in order to demonstrate that Kashmir is a law and order problem while paying lip service to the political nature of the problem.

The basic question of Kashmiri aspirations, Indian commitment to Kashmiris at the time of ascension and our mishandling and mismanagement in the last six decades is never brought up. Whatever has happened in Kashmir since the outbreak of insurgency is one of the darkest chapters in the annals of our democracy. Yet, no questions, no answers, only rhetoric and only myths!

So why is that we have not asked tough questions. Why is it that the teenagers are facing bullets with nothing but stones? Why is it that women are on streets with pots and pans? Why is still such a strong presence of armed forces even when we ourselves admit that the number of militants has drastically reduced? Why is it that a draconian act such as AFSPA still in force in Kashmir and other parts of India? Why is it that the Government does not allow those proved responsible for human rights violations to be prosecuted in a court of law? Why have we not asked for earliest possible resolution of the issue that has led to multiple wars?

The Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech asserted "In Jammu and Kashmir, we are ready to talk to every person or group which abjures violence." This is welcome proposition yet needs to be approached by all parties with cautious optimism. Similar experiences in the past have led to extreme bitterness. Those form the separatist ranks who in the past have responded to such offers from the Government of India have been short changed and undermined. In the last such talk after the initial photo-op every political creature moved out and left those who were dubbed as ‘moderate separatists’ to talk to the members of intelligence and security establishment, thereby completely undermining the political nature of talks. This in turn led to the loss of face for the moderate leaders in their constituencies and today their voices are hardly heard. As for the elected representative, somebody rightly remarked that they do not represent Kashmir in Delhi; rather they represent Delhi in Kashmir. Their credibility if there was any has been completely dented.

Therefore, the proposed talks have to be talks with the political representation from all sides and not the repeat of what has happened in the past if it has to take any step forward towards the resolution. Otherwise the talks will remain an exercise in futility and may even turn out to be counter productive.

The call of the hour for all parties concerned is to come down from the intransigent positions they have taken and think of Kashmir as a human tragedy and enable the direct participation of the victims of this conflict, be it those in valley, in Jammu, in Leh, in Gilgit-Baltistan or in Pakistan Administered Kashmir or those who have migrated to other places, in the final resolution and decision about its future. It is in the immediate interest of both India and Pakistan to resolve this issue at the earliest and save themselves from the perpetual animosity and its consequences. The resolution will be in the great interest of India which is getting ready to take a bigger role at the World stage and exhibiting aspirations of becoming a global power. However, any just resolution for the long lasting peace will have to keep Kashmiris at the centre of the equation and not treat Kashmir as merely a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan.

The Un-just Society

We Indians, since our early childhoods, are taught the greatness of our ancient civilization and splendour of our glorious past. This harking back to some sort of a golden era has of late been substituted by longing for a here-and-now greatness in the new millennium. Buoyed by the economic growth in the last two decades due to the twin factors of free market capitalism and global outsourcing, there has been a pervasive feel good factor in the educated middle class and the urban elite who account for close to thirty percent of our population. These sections of our society have genuinely benefited by this new prosperity and have gone out to claim some visibility at the world stage. The longing for this instant greatness is a result of this increased visibility.

However, large sections of our society still remain outside this circle of beneficiaries and social and economic inequities continue to be on the rise. Statistics as well as experience suggest that millions of Indians continue to struggle even for two square meals a day, leaving aside the other human development parameters such health, education and sanitation etc. Political and human rights of vulnerable sections such as tribals, minorities, landless and migrants are under continues threat. Regional, linguistic, ethnic and communal tensions keep undermining the authority of the state from outside whereas the chronic corruption in the state institutions keeps chewing on its innards from within. These inequities impose a harsh reality check on the idea of this instant greatness.

The bigger impediment, however, comes from the state of justice in our country which is a vital test of greatness of any civilization. The idea of justice in simple terms, not even incorporating the bigger ideas of equity and fairness, is the state and its institutions’ response to the crimes committed against people, within its territorial jurisdiction under the laws of the land. This is where the biggest failure of modern Indian state lies and even our exotic and glorious past does not offer any great examples of justice being delivered. The pre-imminence of the idea of ‘kutniti’ literally translated as ‘delicate policies’ but fundamentally referring to decision-making keeping in mind larger political and other interests has made the delivery of ‘nyaya’ or justice extremely difficult. This is ‘kutniti’ that condones expulsion of Sita on account of gossip, decapitation of Eklavya in an attempt to kill competition, condemnation of humans through a birth-based caste system, annihilation of counter currents such as Buddhism and Jainism and execution of Sikh Gurus in the name of quelling rebellion. These instances of subversion of justice apparently influenced by the idea of ‘kutniti', do not stop with the redefinition of the idea of India as a modern secular democratic nation state after independence from the British.

In spite of having one of the most comprehensive constitutions in the World, the deliverance of justice remains one of the most elusive goals of the Indian state. The inherent flaws in the criminal-justice system often result in the criminal roaming scot-free and the innocent rotting in the prison waiting indefinitely for their cases to be heard. The ‘kutniti’ in the modern India demands that crimes committed in communal conflagrations be treated as ‘collective crimes’ and the planners, instigators and executioners of the heinous acts against the people of India keep enjoying political immunity and protection. The corporate honchos responsible for criminal negligence leading to death and destitution are openly shielded in the name of investor confidence. Land grabs and massive displacement of people are allowed to happen in the name of development and people are made strangers in their only lands as their sources of livelihood and ways of life are snatched away. Any attempt at peaceful protest is brutally oppressed and alternative voices are systematically silenced by the all pervasive machinery of the state. The rich and powerful easily get away with serious crimes such as murder, rape, fraud, drugs and corruption. The scales of justice are heavily skewed by the balance of power between victim and the accused. Even in the cases where sentenced are delivered, it is generally the case of too little, too late. In high profile incidents, the apex court of the land makes occasional observations which usually have some immediate impact but hardly ever lead to a meaningful and timely conclusion. Most of these outcomes are a result of letting ‘kutniti’ dictate terms in the matters where ‘nyaya’ should have been given priority

The constant denial of justice to so many of the aggrieved souls has severely dented people’s confidence in the criminal justice system in this country. This is leading to alienation and fissures within the society which is often reflected in the violent movements and incidents throughout the length and breadth of the nation. There is hardly any space for a non-violent resistance and way for any meaningful dialogue has long been stifled. In this context where justice is not perceived being done, any claim of instant civilizational greatness sounds immature and superficial. Even in the scenario, where greatness is measured in terms of economic prosperity we are far well off the mark. It will be a great service to this nation and also a great help to the cause of our future greatness, if we focus our energies to help mitigate the inequities and injustices inherent in our systems. This does not seem plausible till the time ‘nyaya’ becomes cornerstone of the criminal justice system rather than ‘kutniti’.

Zakhm bhartay bhi nahiN

Zakhm bhartay bhi nahiN nayay zakhm laga deta hai
Jaanay kyooN woh dabay sholoN ko hawaa deta hai

Mera qatil hi yehaaN mulzim bhi hai munsif bhi hai
Zulm badhta hai to bas adl ki meezan jhuka deta jai

Kitna ghamkhwar hai qaid mera, hai kitna ghani
Chheen kar meri zameeN, mujhko amaaN deta hai

Naam mera sar-e-mahfil jab se liya hai usnay
Sang har shakhs yuNhi mujh pe utha deta hai

Jab se waaiz ne sanbhaali hai hukoomat ki kamaaN
Roz ek hukm nayaa ham ko suna deta hai

Woh haseeN shahr jo tahzeeb ka maskan tha kabhi
Chashm-e-pur-khooN se ab ashk baha deta hai

Bas ye ek paikar-e-khaki, zaalim hai kabhi mazloom kabhi
Waqt jaanay kisi kab kaisa banaa deta hai

Hai azal se yehi dastoor ke baaghee ko jehaa.n
Takhta-e-daar kabhi to kabhi shaahi quba deta hai

Glossary
Zakhm: wounds, sholo.n: flames

Qatil: murderer, mulzim: accused, munsif: judge, adl ki meezaan: balance of justice

Ghamkhwaar: compassionate, qaid: leader, ghani: self sufficient, zamee.n: land, amaa.n: shleter

Sar-e-maqtal: in the abattoir, sang: stones, shakhs: person

Waaiz: preacher, hukoomat: government, nezaam: administration, hukm: decree

Hasee.n shahr: beautiful city, tahzeeb ka maskan: abode of culture, chashm-e-pur-khoo.n: blood filled eyes, ashk: tears

Paikar-e-khaki: earthling, zaalim: cruel, mazloom: victim

Azal: beginning of Time, dastoor: norm, baghee: rebel, jehaa.n: world, takhta-e-daar; gallows, shahi quba: royal robe

How free is the Freewill?

Baal Bazaa.n ra su-e-sultaa.n barad
Baal Zaaghaa.n ra ba goristaa.n barad

Wings bring a hawk to Kings;
Wings bring a crow to the grave.

Rumi

The toss-up between the free will and the determination has baffled thinking men since the time immemorial. Simplifying the conundrum it comes down to whether all our actions are pre-determined or acts of our own free will. In the first instance if it is all determined then we don’t have to worry about being accountable for our actions; good, bad or ugly as we don’t have any control over it and hence no risks and rewards could be associated with our actions. On a fundamental level it takes away any incentive to do good because one will do good if one is supposed to. On the other hand if it is all act of our own freewill then why many of us against our strongest desires and despite our best efforts remain stuck with profane lives, superficial jobs, indifferent peers and uninspiring leaders. This makes an aggrieved party completely responsible for its grievance because this is what he has brought on himself by his own free will. Strict adherence to any of these seems to be a losing proposition.

This whole journey of life seems to be a late night train trip, say, from Delhi to Aligarh wherein you know the origin and destination and have some recollection of the stations in between but have no particular memory of the vast fields and landscapes in between. The train is also a typical Indian train which can stop in the middle of nowhere in between without any prior notice. The compartments are all lit well but there is a pitch dark outside. You can move within the train from one end to another, talk to fellow passengers, drink tea, read a book, listen to music, doze off , visit the toilet or just stare in the darkness. There is enough manoeuvrability allowed within the compartment and you are accountable for all your acts in here. That is the freewill. However, you have no idea of your exact location as the train is moving through the darkness and if stops somewhere in between you can’t do anything and have to patiently wait. If a stray cow hits the train or the winter fog thickens or the engines fail, you have no control over it. That is determination. This analogy to an extent supports the assertion that we have free will for a certain set of activities and specific spheres in our lives and hence are accountable for the corresponding acts. On the other hand there are larger events to which these activities belong on which we have no control and hence are not accountable for those acts.

This is a like the proverbial rope which each one of us are supposed to be holding. All of us have our own designated lengths of the rope and are allowed to manoeuvre within that. Beyond the designated length there is no flexibility to manoeuvre. However there are also times when you have exhausted the designated rope, another rope begins for you to manoeuvre. Yet, you are still clueless between the ropes. To conclude, I strongly feel there is a free will that makes us accountable for our actions, but the larger context in which we live is determined.

Why COP15 is a Classic Cop Out

Let’s say Good Bye to common humanity. It is only good to be used in Nobel speeches. Its presence is not auspicious at the time of deal making. For negotiating a deal all you need to know is your national interests and the arm twisting powers you have at your disposal in the so called comity of nations.

Developed nations will play ‘accountability card’, developing ‘growth card’ and the under-developed ‘victim card’. No real solution will emerge amidst this card playing and only a compromise will be reached and the climate will be damned as it has always been. Some half-baked draft will be presented and agreed upon in haste to show some achievement.

Leaders of the individual nations, who otherwise want to be called world leaders, will go home satisfied that they did not sell out their national interests and were yet able to achieve a compromise. The beaurocratic paraphernalia will be content with attending a summit of global importance. Protesters will protest as usual for a few days. Newspapers will publish editorials denouncing the resolution. Electronic media will do usual song and dance routine with experts debating on the existential crisis. Filmmakers will make films showing disturbing images of melting glaciers and wandering polar bear and hopefully win some awards. Green solutions will keep on being developed. Carbon foot-prints will go on being reported. Factories will keep billowing smoke, vehicles will keep guzzling gas and man will keep searching comfort and luxury through reasonable usage of electricity. Kyoto will be dead and buried for good. Good riddance!

Nobody should take any responsibility and still have a piece of the cake and that is called a classic cop out.