Here is some more perspective..
The BBC journo in Delhi has detailed how savvy & young Kashmiris from well to do families have resorted to tools available to them to paint India black, and hope to highlight their struggle. Citizen journalism has taken on a whole new meaning for them, it is their favoured tool in an assymetric battle of unequals. Both those points are troublesome, unless ofcourse we bring in foreign-hand-behind-all-ills into play here too, they are indigenous peoples. They are educated, resourceful and since they are young of age their attitudes are likely to persist for a long time. I have not been able to reach a conclusive answer to forces driving this state of affairs.
- Imagine a Human Rights campaigner in some European Parliament pandering to a all-is-not-well-with-this-world audience. Coming as it does now from the feeble (a 15 year old), to the world it MUST sound like one of the big expose' of our times. A contemporary rendition of David vs Goliath.
Now, if someone representing a credible foreign concern can go all the way and speak with the creators of the incriminating evidence as well as the PR Officer of the CRPF ( and more than the BBC, the British have a reputation of backing the underdog, google: "asylum capital of the world" ) what stops him from 'exposing' the authorities heavy handedness in Kashmir, should he be so inclined?
Also what hitherto unknown are these boys trying to expose? In his own words the 15 yr old says that he did it to impress his friends with the rarity of being at such a place at such a time. I dont think he did it for 'self determination'. But somewhere along the way as it moved from the mobile to youtube and elsewhere, it was painted to be so by people along the way.
- These people along the way, who set the tone for a viewer, you know:
'Rare Footage: Unlucky man got shot' which may rank on the same scale of being exotic as say 'Rare Footage: Live at road accident'
is painted as
'Shaheed .. Brutal repressive state.. '
etc
Looking for the driving force behind this intent, how someone colours our perception, I am trying to find out why the youth are doing this. It may be seen as a plea for fairness from some higher power outside or is it a more fundamental problem of dignity ( putting up with a mentally stressed & quantitatively overwhelming military presence intruding Kashmiri lives, frisking them repeatedly etc. ) and stress from living in a war torn zone, whereby these young are settling scores with the state by humiliating it morally?
- From one point of view, India should be credited for the fact that it allows such 'excursions' at all (suitably 'monitered'), under it's very nose. Not many countries can claim that, given that other world capitals are usually home to dissidents from various regimes, where they operate in a freer environment with possible backing and support of their host (Rebiya Kadeer, Dalai Lama et al). In the podcast itself some Kashmiri journo claimed that though 'sophisticated' methods of reigning folks in are being used, they breath easy, for now.
- Do these smart kids not realise that this may not be the best course of action? That is why my question as to whether these videos solve any purpose in the end other than fueling feelings of hate & revenge among its viewers. I must add from first hand experience that there is no love lost between the Government machinery and citizens on this side of the Radcliffe line. The dichotomy of the Indian state is that it can be a very hard state to live in, on a measure of how it treats its citizens, yet is infamously perceived as a soft state ( capitulating to hijackers more than once). The Gujjars successfully led a unarmed resistance against an apathetic Govt for reservations (positive discrimination if you will), within the Indian framework, why don't these kids replicate that? I mean a more Nelson Mandela way to a settlement over this brick for brick, eye for eye approach.
