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Friday, January 13, 2012

Jammu & Kashmir, India - introductory reading

The Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir has been a perennial cause of confrontation & consternation for the country's government of the day since the time of India's independence. Complete annexation & integration of an Indian state into its fold has, since its inception, defined the national identity of a neighbor. In the ensuing din of claims & counter-claims, allegations & counter-allegations, one is faced with the persistent threat of being swayed by biases & disinformation that vested interest groups attempt to inject into the prevailing narrative to strengthen their own positions.

Map of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir

Such efforts towards obfuscation & willful manipulation become that much more easier to accomplish when one enjoys an unbridled flow of Wahhabi Petro-dollars & the active support & connivance of the security establishment of the aforementioned neighboring country, whose entire setup is singularly geared towards dealing grief to India [the Salafi cannon-fodder with guns play a different, albeit concurrent, role]. An important element of this effort towards social engineering involves trying to make acceptable, a revisionist interpretation of historical antecedents by stating the same, in manners suited to the occasion, at every given opportunity, with the intent of turning fiction into the 'new fact'.

It is a good idea to gain an initial understanding of the background to the issue before one were to begin tracking events unfolding in Jammu & Kashmir through the media. This would help put things in perspective & provide context to the present-day event one would read about. In doing so, one would also be less prone to be misled by attempts at obscurantism & distorted representation of facts.

A good primer material to help gain an understanding of the background to the issue of Jammu & Kashmir is this booklet released by the National Institute of Advanced Studies [N.I.A.S]. An academic initiative, in a matter-of-fact manner, the book is shorn of the sensationalism & melodrama that media articles today are not lacking in. Yet the content is quite easy reading & gives a good primary insight into the problem at hand. Good read.

Alternate viewer

Also: Know your Jammu & Kashmir [suggested weekend reading]

Speaking of context & narrative tainted by prejudice, is this video clip, taken from a news broadcast from across the borders. In abidance with the definition of its national identify, unrestrained frothing through the mouth pass off as "news report" about Jammu & Kashmir. The clip, from a news broadcast sometime during 2010 was no different. As is the norm, theatrics put up by its newsreaders while reporting the 2010 summer violence in Jammu & Kashmir1, would've given an inferiority complex to even the most accomplished of North Korean newsreader, selected to announce the death of their "Dear Leader". In the footage that accompanied the diatribe, ad nauseum, of how security forces of "Hindu-dominated India" were brutalizing & oppressing the "Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir", who were being held back by their leash & prevented from doing what they truly desired [read, rush forward & embrace their Pakistani brethren & merging with it], was this visual from the summer riots, that somehow did not seem to support their verbal diarrhea.

Security personnel in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, being attacked by rioters, yet refuses to use his firearm, even in self-defense

As can be seen, the footage shows a policeman, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, being chased by the rioters & arsonists. Well-equipped that the Indian police force is, he had with him his rifle, but no baton. Nevertheless, standard operating procedure permits him to fire his weapon in an appropriate manner, if needed, more so when he himself was under attack. Yet, despite facing a real threat to his life, he refrains from using his weapon, even in self-defence, for this would, inevitably, have caused grievous harm to the radicalised delinquents, high on narcotic drugs, supplied by the puppet-masters in order to enslave them to do their bidding. Such display of restraint, as seen by the act of the security personnel, hardly seems associative of a security force who are being accused of being hell-bent upon "oppressing" & "brutalizing" the Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir. Wouldn't you agree?

Godspeed

image source

1 - As it turns out, large number of stone pelters & arsonists from the 2010 cycle of violence in Jammu & Kashmir were, in fact, seasonal migrant laborers from other parts of India who were in the state in search of jobs. They were handed the stones to target the security forces [perhaps, after ensuring scribes were present at the scene of action to report this "selfless act of freedom struggle" - If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?] with the promise of financial incentives. So much for the "spontaneous uprising of the subjugated Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir", an impression media outlets, cutting across country of origin, would like to convey to its readers #snigger