Peace Watch » Archive
Geelani, Abdullah and Bakshi- Right To Dissent
Has Dissent Place in Kashmir Z. G. MUHAMMAD Long before. Almost a century back our forefathers had started struggle for right to dissent and free speech. The then feudal rulers who had purchased the land and people as merchandise from the British for making a booty and sharing the same with their lords had denied all freedom to the people of the land. Most disadvantageously placed was the overwhelming Muslim population. ‘There was no touch between the government and the people, no suitable opportunity for representing the grievances..The rulers had no sympathy for people’s wants and grievances. There was no space for public opinion and press was non-existent’. This dismal situation had not only caused our elders to rise in revolt but also even made an important Christen Minister of Maharaja Albion Bannerji … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Dr. Iqbal Dreamt of Kashmir’s Freedom
Zahid G Muhammad Momentous day in the life of a leader, writer or poet is when he sees his ideas translated into reality. Iqbal did not live up to the day when his dream of a separate nation for Muslims of South Asia became a reality on 14 August 1947. He was not a part of the galaxy of leaders of the Muslim League that had gathered in the Minto Park, Lahore on 24 March 19, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Who Is Going To Tell Kashmir Story
Z. G. Muhammad Sometimes, I feel downcast not for the fast changing political discourses. Not for the pipers and drummers of the ‘peoples narratives’ subtly joining the ‘dominant discourse’ and singing songs in symphony with actors that they often told us not to believe in but for our failure to tell our story effectively. It is not a new phenomenon, our history is full of bagpipers of ‘people’s narrative’ suddenly joining the drummers of the ‘dominant discourse’- some out of fatigue, some falling prey to the machinations of the ‘powers that be’, some out of lust for power, some for petty consideration and some stumbling for taking wrong steps at right moments. Nevertheless, the ‘people’s narrative’ never died. Our ancestors successfully always breathed fresh life in it by passing on ‘the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Kashmir Perspectives
Z.G. Muhammad Even those suffering from ‘ostrich syndrome’ cannot deny it. For past sixty-five years, ‘Kashmir dispute’ has been running through India and Pakistan narratives as blood runs through veins in human body. It has been steering and shaping the foreign policy of the two countries and has been hugely influencing their domestic politics. To think of politics in the two countries without Kashmir is unimaginable – any major history work on the post-independence India like ‘India After Gandhi’ by Ramachandra Guha testifies it that Kashmir has been at the centre of Indian polity – and all other issues have rallied around it.’ Since January 1948, when Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru took Kashmir to the United Nation, with all its lows and highs the dispute is seen as threat to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
2014- Kashmir and Afghanistan
Z.G. Muhammad Some fifty-nine years back Josef Korbel wrote, ‘India and Pakistan continue to dissipate their wealth, their strength and their energy on a near fratricidal struggle in which the hitherto almost unknown State of Kashmir has become the physical battleground.’ Trillions of dollars are spent on building arsenals at the cost of development of tens of millions living a sub-human life. People of the two countries have not been paying heavy prices for the wars … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Tribesmen and Kashmir narrartive
Z.G. Muhammad Many stories about 1947 happenings in Kashmir have remained untold. The reason has not been that there were no historians or scribes around to record them but for fear of reprisal by what one would call as ‘neo-fascists’ rulers many dared not to record the happenings as they happened. Those that dared to violate the dictates were exiled or deported to AJK. It was denounced as “gangster rule” by Mehr Chand Mahajan in his … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Kashmir: 1947 Lies Exposed
Kashmir: 1947 Lies Exposed BY Z. G. Muhammad Manufactured narratives’ do not stand the test of the time. Like a soap bubble this burst once put to the litmus test of history. Christopher Snedden, an Australian politico-strategic analyst, author and academic in South Asian studies in his recently released book, “Kashmir: the Unwritten History’ has dismantled much orchestrated ‘dominant discourse’ about the Kashmir ‘dispute.’ For over past sixty six five years New Delhi has been asserting that Kashmir’s ‘conditional … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Featured