Peace Watch » Entries tagged with "Z.G. Muhamamd"
Children Fundraisers Of Kashmir
Author Stories about the thirties, in our childhood, were not that old. Every elder in the family had a story to tell about one or the other martyr of July 31, 1931, buried just three hundred yards from our house. They remembered stories of the movement against the Maharaja like textbook lessons. Even an old small earthen pitcher painted green had a story to tell about fundraising for the movement against the monarchy its discriminatory rule. The pitcher often made my mother nostalgic; … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, Memeiors
In Stifling Atmosphere Forget History! Create Literature
PUNCHLINE Forget History! Write Literature By Z.G. Muhammad A fortnight back, a single column news item in newspapers announced the death of Mushirul Hasan, an Indian historian and former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia and author of a dozen and half books. His forte has been Islam in South Asia, communalism and birth of India and Pakistan as independent dominions. Except for some occasional remarks in sync with the ‘hegemonic discourse’, he had no direct connection with Kashmir. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Pakistan’s Letter Diplomacy and Kashmir
PUNCHLINE Pakistan’s Letter Diplomacy By Z.G. Muhammad Kashmir has been converted into blood tarn. In the recent history, the past forty-three days have been the goriest and the barbaric. More than 1.3 billion pellets, thousands of bullets, teargas shells and pepper gas cartridges have been fired killing sixty-eight and wounding over ten thousand civilians- scores disabled for life. Every day, more than two hundred and fifty people at an average are wounded. In the seventy years, history of the struggle for the right to self-determination for the first time more than five hundred children, teenagers and youth were fired with pellets in eyes and pushed into darkness for rest of their life. In the twentieth century, largely seen a century of decolonization, freedom struggles and people’s struggles for rights across the globe … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Changing Power Equations and Resolution of Kashmir
‘BURDEN OF HISTORY’ Z. G. MUHAMMAD Independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister, Sardar Patel were not on the same page on overwhelmingly Muslim majority State becoming part of union of India. Nehru, was obsessively working for it since 1946. And after Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the last British Viceroy, Nehru reviving his old friendship with him ‘never lost an opportunity to ‘arguing in favour of Jammu and Kashmir joining India.’ In June 1947, before Mountbatten leaving for Srinagar for meeting Maharaja Hari Singh, Nehru handed over a memorandum to the Viceroy arguing for accession of the state to India- and this memorandum became Viceroy’s bible on Kashmir. Contrary to Nehru’s overzealousness about Kashmir, many historians have recorded that Sardar Patel was not interested in the State joining India. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Of A Dream Merchant And His Goals
Of Dreams and Goals By Z. G. Muhammad It is not a political enemy’s dig at his arch-enemy. It is not an opponent’s last-ditch attempt to challenge political ideology of a leader. Calling a leader as ‘dream merchant’ is in fact an acknowledgment of his greatness- all great people dream high. I have no idea, what might have crossed the mind of the scion of the Abdullah family when he used this phrase for Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Nevertheless, he deserves kudos for naming the octogenarian leader, who has been on the political scene of Jammu and Kashmir for over fifty-five years as ‘dream merchant.’—it is the highest honor that could be bestowed on a leader. When, I read phrase ‘dream merchant’ in the screaming headlines, the famous speech of Martin Luther … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Of Spin-doctors, Machiavellians and Kashmir
By Z. G. Muhammad Spin-doctors have a field day in Kashmir. Summer 2013, belongs to them. The phrase, first used by New York Times in its editorial is now part of global political jargon. According to New York Times columnist, William Safari ‘spin’ is ‘deliberate shading of news perception.’ Moreover, for decades the spin-doctors have been playing the role of ‘putting slants on information when it is presented to public or in press.’ The spin-doctors have been there through out history, as someone has rightly said the first spin-doctor was the Serpent in the Bible for convincing Adam and Eve that Apples were next big thing. In modern political lexicon, they are called PR pundits but their role in many situations is to put an ‘optimistic face’ in worsening situation. The spin-doctors coin … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take