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'Kashmiris Do Not Feel Indian, Today They'd Rather Have the Chinese Rule Them': Farooq Abdullah

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NEW DELHI: Besieged Kashmiris, including those that once had faith in their destiny with India, would today prefer to be ruled by China than New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir’s former pro-India chief minister Farooq Abdullah said in a TV interview aired on Wednesday.

“Today Kashmiris do not feel Indian and do not want to be Indian … They are slaves … They would rather have the Chinese rule them,” Mr Abdullah told veteran TV anchor Karan Thapar, in an interview for The Wire online.


Of course they would given a choice between the two.
 
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Kashmir 'mass rape' survivors fight for justice
  • 7 October 2017

Aliya talking to victim
Image captionOne of the women (right) told our reporter what happened when the soldiers were sent

More than 26 years ago, Indian soldiers allegedly raped more than 30 women in the Kashmiri villages of Kunan and Poshpora. Those who survived the attack are still fighting for justice, as Aliya Nazki from BBC Urdu reports.

It was 23 February 1991. The people of Kunan, a tiny village in Indian administered Kashmir's Kupwara district, were retiring for the night after a cold winter day. Zooni and Zarina (not their real names) were also getting ready to go to bed when they heard a series of loud knocks on the door.

At the time, India had started a large scale military operation in an attempt to control a popular armed insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir. So-called "cordon and search" operations, locally called "crackdowns", were becoming routine and still persist to this day.

In the 1990s, this would entail Indian security forces isolating an area, getting all the men out, and then searching the houses. The men would be paraded in front of an informer - and suspected militants or those deemed sympathisers would be picked up and taken away.

When Zooni and Zareena saw soldiers on their doorstep that night, they thought it was the beginning of another of these so-called crackdowns. The men were taken away, and the soldiers came in, as was the established practice. But remembering that day makes their eyes fill with tears even now.
Kunan Poshpora
Image captionThe area was put under lockdown that night by Indian forces

"We were getting ready for bed when the soldiers came. They took the men away. Some started drinking alcohol. I was holding my two-year-old daughter in my arms when they tried to grab me.

"I resisted, and in the scuffle she fell out of my arms, and out of the window. She was crippled for life.


"Three soldiers grabbed me, tore my pheran, my shirt - I don't even know what all happened after that. There were five of them. I still remember their faces."

Zareena was also in the same house. It had only been 11 days since her wedding.
"I had returned from my parents' house that very day.

"Some soldiers asked my mother-in-law about all the new clothes hanging in the room, so she told them, 'here, she is our new daughter-in-law, our new bride'.

"What happened after that, I cannot begin to describe it. We haven't just been wronged, what we have faced is an infinite injustice. Even today when we see soldiers we start shaking with fear."

The people of Kunan and neighbouring Poshpora accuse the Indian army of carrying out a planned mass rape of the women in these two far-flung villages. They also claim that while the women were gang-raped, the men were subjected to horrific torture, and that they have been fighting for justice these last 26 years.

In Srinagar when I spoke with a minister in the state government, Naeem Akhtar, about these allegations he said that in conflicts like Kashmir truth often gets obscured by the layer of dust that settles on it.
And now it seems a group of young Kashmiri women are determined to wipe this dust away.
In 2013 they filed a petition to reopen the case in the state High Court.


Natasha
Image captionNatasha Rathar and other activists wrote a book about the case

Natasha Rathar, a young scholar, is one of those women who put their names on that petition.
Natasha, along with four other young Kashmiri women, has also authored an award-winning book on this case, called Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?

Natasha said that their motivation for reopening the case was quite simple.
"This was such a big case of mass rape, in which those affected had actually come forward and had demonstrated so much courage.

"And there was a huge body of evidence too. So we felt that this case needed to be reopened."
And it was reopened. After a long and difficult process the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the state government to pay compensation to those affected.

The state government initially agreed, but then changed its mind, and challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court of India, where the case is still being heard.
The Indian Army has always denied the allegations.
When we requested an interview, they sent us a statement.

An army spokesperson told us that these allegations had been independently investigated three times, and that the case had been closed due to conflicting statements.

In Kashmir most officials seem to speak in what sound like cautious parables.
Nayeema
Image captionNayeema Ahmad Mahjoor says the crime should be proved in court
But not all. We spoke with Nayeema Ahmad Mahjoor, who heads the state commission for women's rights.
She told us very clearly that she believes that this crime was committed against the people of Kunan and Poshpora, and that this should be proved in court.
She however stressed that the state government cannot interfere in the legal process.
What really happened in Kunan and Poshpora that fateful winter night is something we might never find out.

But a new generation is coming of age here now. The village and its houses are changing, and yet there are some painful memories that continue to haunt the residents.

 
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Gurpreet Singh: Where is the outrage for more 100 Kashmiri women raped by Indian soldiers on a single night?


by Gurpreet Singh on February 26th, 2019 at 7:40 AM

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  • Images of angry children are being used in India to fire up anger over a suicide attack in Pulwama, Kashmir.
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  • Images of angry children are being used in India to fire up anger over a suicide attack in Pulwama, Kashmir.PREMCHANDER8
Ever since more than 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14, the Indian mainstream has gone mad, with more hawkish nationalists calling for revenge and war. It has even led to Indian aerial bombings on Pakistan, with Pakistan's president, Imran Khan, claiming that this was "done for domestic consumption" in advance of an election.



The suicide attack took place in Indian-administered Kashmir where an armed insurgency for independence has been going on for years. The Indian government generally blames neighbouring Pakistan for supporting a movement in Muslim-dominated Kashmir, claiming that Pakistan wants to annex the territory through uprising.

As the lone bomber involved was a Kashmiri Muslim, and the Pakistan-based Islamic extremist group Jaish-E-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the incident, supporters of ruling right-wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party and others have started a nationwide campaign against Pakistan and the Kashmiri people.

Calls are being made for “Blood for Blood”, while Kashmiris settled in other states of India have come under well-orchestrated attacks from angry mobs.
The anger also spilled outside India in countries among a sizeable population of the Indian diaspora. Candlelight vigils and prayers were organized for the slain soldiers and donations for the bereaved families started pouring in from celebrities.
Though it is sad that so many families lost their loved ones in a single stroke, the hysteria caused by this tragedy has suppressed the wails of Kashmiri women who lost their honour on a single night 28 years ago at the hands of Indian forces.
On February 23, 1991, the Indian army cracked down on two Kashmiri villages, Konan and Poshpora, and allegedly tortured 200 men and gang-raped up to 150 women. Because of shame and a fear of reprisal, many women remained silent.
Close to 40 women dared to step forward to fight for justice and yet years have passed, and there is no justice and closure. This is partly because the Indian army continues to enjoy immunity under repressive laws that give protection to the its forces in conflict zones.
The anniversary of the incident came and passed without much coverage in the media.
Candlelight vigils are being held to remember victims of a suicide attack, but the gang-raping of Kashmiri women is largely forgotten.
Candlelight vigils are being held to remember victims of a suicide attack, but the gang-raping of Kashmiri women is largely forgotten.NIZIL SHAHRoot causes of terror ignored

In an environment of hypernationalism, any critical questioning of the role of Indian forces is more likely to be discouraged by the political leadership and media pundits—and that is what seemed to have happened in this case.
Undoubtedly, we should all deplore the killings of soldiers who mostly came from poor and less privileged families. But are we ready to question the repression of people by the custodians of peace and security?
Konan and Poshpora are not the only instances of state barbarity or sexual violence by Indian forces. There have been many other instances of how, in the name of maintaining peace or protecting the so-called national interest, political activists have been murdered through extrajudicial means all over India. Custodial rapes have been used as a weapon to punish communities fighting for their rights, including the right to self-determination, as in the case of Kashmir.
Those who are spewing so much hatred against Pakistan or Kashmiris because of the killings of more than 40 soldiers and calling for revenge need to take a moment to remember shameful episodes such as what happened in Konan and Poshpora.

They need to see how repression has caused more misery and violence rather than bringing permanent peace. If we cannot treat our own people with respect, we have no right to confront our enemies, both perceived and real, for merely taking advantage of a disorder created by us.
For the record, the lone attacker involved in Pulwama was also detained and humiliated by the Indian forces for no fault of his own, according to his family. He was returning home when he was picked up during a protest and forced to rub his nose on the ground.
Those talking of revenge are forgetting that such harshly punitive measures have turned many into separatists and extremists. And in the end, it's ordinary soldiers coming from poor families who suffer and not those who incite passions for their narrow political ends.
The Konan Poshpora incident is a reminder that not everything served to the citizens as a recipe for peace by the ruling classes can be accepted at face value. We cannot let them decide in our name what is good for the nation.

Rather than mimicking them, we need to make them accountable for the crisis in Kashmir and ask them to resolve the problem through dialogue and justice for the victims of the Konan Poshpora mass rape and other excesses committed in the name of unity and integration.

Gurpreet Singh is cofounder of Radical Desi magazine and Indians Abroad for Pluralist India.
 
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Dr Abdullah suggested the prime minister deliberately went out of his way to give him the impression the massive increase in troops was for security purposes. He said the prime minister did not say a word about Articles 370 and 35A

What did he expect from the Sanghi ba$tard, he laughed and shook the hands of mobs who raped little girls and killed old folk.
But I guess you still haven’t learnt, you trust the ‘Supreme Court’ , the same one that gave him a clean sheet.
 
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Of course they would given a choice between the two.

Lets hope they never have to ever chose like that. There is no comfort in the choice of being burned or drowned. The Kashmiris have and always will desire their own freedom. They did not fight 100s of years against foreign armies the Mughals to the Sikhs to the Afghan raids to British to eventually be forced to Choose between India and China. Their freedom is their right and something that should be respected by all nations. Same for regions that made the Princely State of Kashmir or were Princely state themselves like Hunza or Nagar.
They have stood against foreign rule be it from the north or the south or the west and this deserves their desire of freedom. Frankly, the words in the article hit me in the wrong way. This is demeaning a very long struggle for independence and autonomy. There is no other ruler. Not India, nor china nor Ministry of Kashmir Affairs :P
 
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Dr Abdullah suggested the prime minister deliberately went out of his way to give him the impression the massive increase in troops was for security purposes. He said the prime minister did not say a word about Articles 370 and 35A
Forget Abdulla, even the opposition congress leaders didn't even know they were gonna repeal Art 370, catching them off guard and successfully dividing the opposition and getting it passed.
 
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NEW DELHI: Besieged Kashmiris, including those that once had faith in their destiny with India, would today prefer to be ruled by China than New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir’s former pro-India chief minister Farooq Abdullah said in a TV interview aired on Wednesday.

“Today Kashmiris do not feel Indian and do not want to be Indian … They are slaves … They would rather have the Chinese rule them,” Mr Abdullah told veteran TV anchor Karan Thapar, in an interview for The Wire online.


Clearly he is deliberately making a controversial statement to stay in the news.

Neither China interested in taking over Kashmir nor Kashmiris have ever indicated to be part of China.
 
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Why should Kashmir be part of Pak?
Because we respect the wishes of Kashmiris, while Delhi acts regardless of the wishes of Kashmiris. The honourable forum member you're replying to was making a point. The point is that India is right down at the bottom of the list of preferences.

Naturally, all sane people, Pakistanis and Chinese alike believe Kashmiris should exercise the right of self-determination. This is all very straightforward. It is surprising that Indians cannot comprehend such things, then again, maybe we shouldn't be surprised.
 
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Here's the problem you Pajeetistani zombies don't get. The reason ANY Kashmiri would prefer Chinese rule to Indian rule has nothing at all to do with Islam. The propaganda you've been spoonfed since birth that somehow only religious extremists oppose Delhi is laughable. Under Chinese rule or Pakistani rule or independent rule, the one group that will be put firmly in its place is the HINDUTVA FILTH that has twisted Hinduism into a terrorist cult whose sole purpose is to rewrite history and alleviate the butthurt caused by centuries of Muslim rule in the subcontinent. This inferiority complex driven mechanism is proudly on display in Modi, Shah et al in the political chambers of Delhi.

Kashmiris are a colourful and diverse group of people united by culture, language and heritage. Delhi will never understand this. Delhi has even left its own Kashmiri agents hanging out to dry, as per Abdullah senior's immortal words "this is not my India". Of course it isn't Mr Abdullah, it never was your India and it never can be because it's a hindutva state.

There is no question that Beijing would crush hindutva like the mosquito it is, were they given a chance. That's all that matters to Kashmiris, Pakistanis, Chinese and the dwindling few non-hindutva Indians who may or may not exist out there.
If they want to be ruled by China, they can apply for Chinese asylum. Problem solved. Your diatribe against Hindutva doesn't need a counter. You are just ignorant on the matter.

Mr. Abdullah is bitter because he lost power. Ask China to extend citizenship to Abdullah, tell me if he would ever leave India.

Parliament Passes Jammu And Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020

Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP) demanded inclusion of Gurjari, Punjabi and Pahari in the Bill, saying that the motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" was lacking in the state.

"Include Punjabi, Gurjari and Pahari so that we win the trust of everyone in J&K," he said.

Lol.
 
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Division of the subcontinent was based on Muslims for Pakistan and Hindus for India.

Do not comment on subjects you only have a passing knowledge of. Former Princely states of British India were given the choice to be part of either India or Pak. Jammu & Kashmir is a former princely state.
 
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