Re-thinking Kashmir

#114 by aslam644 on July 8, 2004 9:24am PT

Thanks aslam, we need to understand more on this topic. For the folks in India, kashmiris speak kashmiri, have names like Bhatt and Kachru, wear Kangri and women wear some kind of head-gear etc. Also, Hindu kashmiri (Pandit), while being somewhat different in dress, also speak kashmiri and urdu, are generally well educated and eat the same food as muslims. Then there are ladakhis, shias etc. but they are yet more distinct.

Based on what you say, how similar and different are mirpuris from valley folks? They seem to speak different language, so likely to have different cultural roots. Clearly they are muslims (the main uniting thread). Perhaps the neelam valley has some people closer to the valley folks? You seem to be mirpuri, so information on this topic will be educational. Our info of mirpuris comes from films like East is East. They seem like a hard working lot like Sikhs.

Also, on chowk, there is not a single muslim (valley) kashmiri poster ever inspite of hundreds of posts on kashmir. This is strange. Atleast an imposter will be a change. Is chowk staff disouraging them?

thanks.

#110 by rsridhar on July 8, 2004 7:55am PT

You have said it!!

#110 by rsridhar on July 8, 2004 7:55am PT

Infact most of them would love to see communal riots spread all across the country so that they say prophetically- ``Didn`t we tell them? Secularism is a failed concept!``

aslam644:
We all share your hopes for the future.

Urstruly#102:
You assume that all muslims will vote against India. Even the RSS does not go that far. Some friend you are! Huey tum dost jiske dushman uska asmaan kyon ho?

#105 AmericanBirdBrain

[quote]
You still have to admit that the government in India is predominantly hindu. Hey I`ve done my research. India is also a country with one major religon even though it claims to be secular.
[end-quote]

This is truely a masterpiece of analysis your part. Could you please provide us with examples of secular countries where the majority population is not of a single religion?

Do you even understand what the meaning of secular is??? Are you still bottle-fed or at least on solid food? Please enlighten us further with your infinite wisdom.

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dost-mitter#101
thanks for reply

The reason why you heard people from POK speak potohari is because that’s the indigenous language of the area not kashmiri, not because they are potohari settlers from panjab.

There was a sizable minority of hindus and Sikhs, in the area that is now azad Kashmir, in the turmoil of 1947 all fled, or were forced out. Quite a few women were abducted from both sides at partition. One such case I knew of a woman in our village in Mirpur (A.K), she had been abducted by a police man from our village, he had converted her and married her against her will no doubt.

When I was a young lad growing up, I remember her as being kind and the only woman in her age group in the village, who was literate.
Looking back at it now, I remember she sometimes had a blank stare in her face as though she was longing for someone.

After the tyrant husband of hers had died, another one of these abducted woman some how made contact with her relatives in Jammu, she went over to meet them while she was there, she met many other hindus from mirpur. One of them asked her about our village woman, she told him she is alive and well he gave a message for her to contact them, on receiving this message our village woman along with her grown up son, went over to Jammu, and met all her surviving relatives, she was laden with gifts when she returned. There is a happy ending to this sad story if we can call it that.

Let us hope for every one’s sake in South Asia our future is very different from our past.

Most of the problems of the Indian subcontinent including Kashmir will go away if the British will come back to rule.

An Indian is proposing to form a party BBB (BRING BACK BRITISH)!!!
He is encouraging everyone to join it.

Desis are misfit rulers and can serve only.

re: more on the movie Lakshya

http://www.sulekha.com/redirectnh.asp?cid=339175
Sridhar

``Secularism is not just a good idea. It is the only way. ``

I totally agree. Discrimination of any kind is not condoned by Islam to begin with. Government should be secular in order to be fair, I think separation of church and state is a beautiful thing, but difficult to acheive. Why even in the some legislation shows some bias towards rleigon, such as the very debatable moment of silence rule enforced in schools. Religon is the tool of the exploitators to gain power and followers. And every religon has the exploitaters, so there`s no point in arguing about shias and sunnis and what not...


When I say the Indian government is predominantly hindu I mean the Indian government is mostly composed of individuals of one faith. No I do not know the ins and outs of how the Indian government works, but I would think from all I here that: in India politics run hand in hand with religon. So assume that the muslims and other minorities are usually underdogs, while the majors groups such as the Hindus are always in massive numbers. Regardless of the religon of the person at the top, the composition of the body he guides is also important.

You make an assumption I`m Paki...interesting.

As if 700,000 gun totting war criminals were not enough to gag a whole nation, Indians are building a wall to incarcerate a whole nation in Kashmir. Is it that India is hiding something that is worst than South Korea? Where will it end?

re:#105 by americanFOB
``You still have to admit that the government in India is predominantly hindu.``
If u say the majority of Indians in India are hindus, i agree. I do not know what u mean when u say ``the GOI is predominantly hindu``. GOI is a body. It is not a person. Right now, it is headed by a sikh. The party in power (congress) in turn has a christian at its head. So, at he top level, the predominant religion right now is not hindu.
I just feel that you Pakis only think in terms of religion. Ask yourself this question: if Pak was meant for muslims, why are Shias and Sunnis killing each other in Karachi and other places.
Secularism is not just a good idea. It is the only way.
Sridhar

To #105 :
Just like the Sindhi`s need from the Punjabis, the Balochis from........

re:#106 by ballukhan
I agree.
I think the best seen in that movie was when, after capturing a bunker, one Indian soldier (presumably a muslim) lifts up a phone and speaks with a Paki from across the border. The soldier warns him and ends the conversation with ``Khuda Hariz``. The guy on the other side asks him if he was a muslim in an incredulous tone.
This pretty much sums up the thought process of an average Paki. He thinks no muslim can ever make it in India. After all, was not Pak meant for the muslims of the subcontinen? So, per his logic, if IMs are in India still, they must be living in a hell.
Best way to repudiate an average Paki`s logic would be to prove to him that minorities are not just living in India but thriving well. I think this is beginning to happen.
Sridhar

Urstruly - any stats for army oppressed Pakistanis, esp us minority folks.

re:#106 by ballukhan
Further to my last post, i think Lakshya is a damn good movie and Farhan Akhtar, a damn good director. With powerful script from his dad Javed Akhtar, he brings out the best from everyone. There is a subtle underplaying of emotions. There are no ``bharat mata ki jai`` slogans, no overdose of patriotic nonsense. Human aspect of a soldier`s life is well shown. It is miles ahead of Border LOC.
May be some Pakistani will someday make a documentary (if not a movie) to show how Pak army humiliated its own soldiers by denying the dead ones even a decent burial. It was left to the professional Indian army to do this task. But as long as Army is calling shots in that country, i do not see such a film will see the light of day.
Sridhar