[sacw] [ACT] sacw 27 Jan 00

Harsh Kapoor act@egroups.com
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 20:21:00 +0100


South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
27 December 2000
__________________
#1. Peace activists should take steps to resolve Indo-Pak discord
#2. Alienation and the revival of militancy [ in Jammu & Kashmir]
__________________

#1.

ASIA PULSE
18 January 2000

Peace activists should take steps to resolve Indo-Pak discord

Calcutta, Jan 18 (PTI) Peace activists in India and Pakistan should work
together to create an impact on their governments so that steps could be
taken to resolve disputes between the two countries, speakers said at a
meet here Tuesday.

Terrorism was a major challenge in any peace initiative between the two
countries and unless the problem was solved, lasting peace could not be
expected, West Bengal Transport and Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty
said at the South Asia Peace Meet and All India Constructive Workers'
conference.

Speaking on the occasion, a member of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission
Brig R Rao Hamid, said Pakistan wants to normalise ties with India and the
authorities here should take the opportunity to start talks to improve
bilateral ties.

"Gen Musharraf is a man of peace. He wants to normalise relations with
India. This is the time when India can {tart negotiations for improvement
of relations," Hamid, also a founder-member of the Pakistan-India Forum
for Peace, said.

Earlier inaugurating the meet, journalist and former diplomat Kuldip Nayar
said after India and Pakistan gained freedom, there had been only a change
in the leadership and not in attitude.

Asserting that "there is no alternative to peace", he regretted that the
two neighbours continued to increase their spending on arms.

Admiral (retd) R Ramdass, a peace activist, said if Pakistan was to
normalise relations with India, it must show that it was against terrorism
of any kind.

Political leaders of both the countries "were afraid of peace", he added.

Stating that over the past year, the people of both countries "had lived
in fear of the nuclear bomb and reckless leadership," Hamid said
'millions' of his countrymen wanted to live in peace and harmony with
India.

Pointing out that Pakistanis travelling to India faced problems in
obtaining visa as did Indians wanting to visit his country, he said Indian
newspapers and periodicals were also not freely available there. "The
authorities of both countries should take steps in changing the situation".

Claiming that the "peace movement" in his country was "small but alive",
Pakistani journalist N B Naqvi, a member of the Indo-Pakistan Peoples'
=46orum, said that despite their fledgling state, Pakistani peace
organisations were making efforts along with their Indian counterparts to
resolve disputes between the two countries.

Stating that "vast ghettos of the poor, the unlettered and the ailing"
remained both in India and his country even after 50 years, Naqvi said the
authorities of both the countries should take steps to ensure lasting
peace in the interest of development.

"The distance between the rulers and the common man had increased and with
liberalisation of the economies, the rich became richer and the poor,
poorer," Nayar said.

Trinamool Congress MP Krishna Bose stressed the need for establishing
people-to-people contact for normalising relations between the two
neighbours, and said: "Whatever happens, we must continue dialogues with
Pakistan".

The three-day meet is being organised by Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj and
Harijan Sevak Samity.

Press Trust of India Limited
(c) 2000 PTI Ltd.

____________

#2.
=46rontline
Volume 17 - Issue 02, Jan. 22 - Feb. 04, 2000
COVER STORY

Alienation and the revival of militancy

Militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is sustained in some measure by a sense
of alienation among the people of the State and the absence of
democratic outlets for popular discontent.

by BALRAJ PURI

KASHMIRI Muslims, who were disillusioned with Pakistan after its
misadventure in Kargil and the Army takeover, were shocked by the recent
hijacking of the Indian Airlines aircraft. Every section of the Kashmiri
population, including staunch secessionists , categorically condemned it
as a terrorist, inhuman and anti-Islamic act.

But none of these three events brought any relief for India. The attacks
on the secretariat and the headquarters of the Army, the Border Security
=46orce and the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police,
which followed these events, in fact , indicate that militancy is
assuming a more aggressive and daredevil form - and that too in the
winter months, when it normally subsides. The security forces suffered
their worst losses in 1999 when 360 personnel were killed, as against
180 in 1997.

The intensification of militancy cannot entirely be explained in terms
of either the motives and compulsions of Pakistan or the effectiveness
and lapses of the security forces. Militancy can nowhere be sustained
without some degree of local support, and according to official sources,
the extent of local support for militancy has increased in Kashmir. The
process of exfiltration of Kashmiri youth to receive training and arms
from across the Line of Control and join the ranks of the militants has
restarte d after several years. Press reports, quoting official sources,
put the number of exfiltrators in 1999 at 800. Militancy and the sense
of alienation among the people, which were at their lowest ebb in 1996,
when a "popular government" was installed, have been on the ascendant
ever since, owing to indigenous causes also.

One significant indicator of the increasing alienation is the decreasing
participation of voters in the elections in the last three years. A
comparison of the percentage of votes polled in the three parliamentary
constituencies in the Kashmir Valley - Sr inagar, Anantnag and Baramulla
- in the general elections in 1996 and 1999 is illustrative. The polling
percentage, which was 35 in Srinagar, 50 in Anantnag and 41 in Baramulla
in 1996, dropped to 12, 14 and 28 respectively in the elections of
September- October 1999. Among the Muslim-majority Assembly segments in
the Jammu region, the polling during the recent elections was 7 in
Banihal, 21 in Surankot, 23 in Inderwal, 24 in Kishtwar and 26 in
Mendhar. In the Assembly elections of 1996, the respective f igures were
52.26, 74.26, 62.54, 69.46 and 66.79.

The election boycott campaign by the militants this time was more
aggressive and violent than in recent elections. But simultaneously the
role of the security forces in coercing people to vote was also more
brazen and partisan; this was well exposed by t he national press. The
Election Commission's official observers were reported to have
corroborated these allegations. According to their report, for instance,
8 per cent votes were polled in Pulwama district, and of this 7 per cent
were due to the securi ty forces.

Although the ruling National Conference won the three seats in the
Kashmir Valley, it secured only a low share of the votes (as a
proportion of the total electorate). But even this may have to be
discounted further. In Jammu region, where threats for and against
voting were far less, the N.C. secured a majority of the votes polled
only in four Assembly segments, although it has 15 sitting MLAs in the
region.

Ladakh is the only constituency where the N.C. retained the support of
Muslims and the seat, thanks to communal polarisation between the Muslim
and the Buddhist populations. The N.C. is virtually isolated from the
Buddhist population.

WHAT are the reasons for the disenchantment with the N.C. by the people
of all communities and in all regions except Muslims in Ladakh, and why
has it intensified so much within the last three years?

Economic stagnation could be one of the causes. There are not many
employment opportunities for the youth, particularly the educated,
except in government service. The number of government employees rose
from 2.54 lakhs in March 1996 to 3.58 lakhs at pre sent. As a proportion
of the population, this is the highest in the country. The wage bill
increased from Rs.1,550 crores to Rs.3,000 crores during the same
period, and it now matches almost the entire revenue receipts of the
State from internal sources. The government has not paid two instalments
of Dearness Allowance to its employees, and often fails to pay salaries
on time. Frequent agitations by government employees to secure their
dues and other demands have adversely affected the efficiency of the
administration.

The arbitrary method of recruitments to government service, which is
done almost entirely to accommodate those close to National Conference
Ministers and workers, has led to resentment among youth. The arbitrary
use (or misuse) of state funds without pro per accountability also
breeds discontent. In a report tabled in the most recent session of the
State Assembly, the Comptroller and Auditor-General points out that the
State has failed to furnish utilisation certificates to the tune of
Rs.13,468 crores. Further, the total expenditure of the State Government
aggregated Rs.9,544.61 crores, against the authorised provision of the
Rs.6,373.49 crores. Likewise, the Planning Commission has observed that
out of the Plan allocation of Rs.1,750 crores for the c urrent year, the
State Government spent Rs.1,000 crores for the salary and maintenance
component alone.

NISSAR AHMAD
As part of enhanced security measures, people being frisked on the
roadside in Pattan in northern Kasmir.

Such an arbitrary and unauthorised manner of spending from the public
exchequer, with the connivance of the Centre, may be motivated to
strengthen the grip of a one-party state - headed by a party that is
supposed to be the most patriotic and loyal. But it also creates room
for corruption, nepotism and scandals that are widely known to the local
people, and distorts and inhibits developmental activities. For
instance, the government admitted recently that one of its Cabinet
Ministers owed Rs.34 crores a s arrears of sales tax.

The one-party state, strengthened by the fiscal and economic policies
under a unitary form of the State Constitution in a State as diverse as
Jammu and Kashmir, further suffocates the political aspirations of the
people. The manner in which the State Gov ernment scuttled the report of
the Regional Autonomy Committee which was appointed to suggest measures
for devolution of political and economic power to the regions and its
further decentralisation to district, blocks and panchayats ensured the
continuat ion and intensification of tensions between regions and
communities. The N.C. did not also seriously pursue its election promise
to secure greater autonomy for the State and thus disillusioned Kashmiri
Muslims.

The N.C's overenthusiastic support to the Bharatiya Janata Party and its
securing a berth in the BJP-led Ministry at the Centre could not have
endeared it to Muslims in the State. For despite Vajpayee's liberal
face, his party has not been able to win th e support of the Muslim
community anywhere in India.

Meanwhile, the increased cordon-and-search operations and crackdowns on
civilian populations by the security forces following a spurt in
militancy have proved unpopular, particularly when lapses and excesses
cannot be ruled out. This in turn has initiate d a new vicious circle in
Kashmir.

There is another predicament that the people of the State face, a
peculiar disability which people elsewhere in the country do not
experience: their discontent, which has accumulated from diverse sources
mentioned above, is denied a political and democra tic outlet.

MORE than the N.C. and the BJP, it is the Congress(I) that has let down
the people of the State and the national interest. Being the only party
which, as a secular Opposition party, had its organisational presence
all over the State, it could have provid ed a constructive outlet for
the popular discontent. But instead of sympathising with the victims of
mismanaged finances of the State, the party's spokespersons have pleaded
the State Government's case for more Central aid to cover up its
irregularities. The N.C.-BJP alliance exposed the former's claim to
being a champion of Kashmiriyat and the latter's claim to being a
protector of Jammu's interest. The Congress(I) inexplicably refused to
fill the political vacuum in either of the regions. By not takin g any s
tand on the proposals for greater autonomy for the State or for the
regions, it isolated itself from the aspirations of the people in the
Valley and in Jammu.

The Congress(I) aspired to emerge as a saviour of Muslims in the rest of
India against what is called the threat of the communal BJP. But why did
it have no sympathy for Kashmiri Muslims and why did it not utter even a
word of disapproval of the N.C's al liance with the BJP? Why did not the
national leaders of the party visit the Valley during the elections to
capitalise on the disillusionment of the people against the three-year
N.C. rule, in particular of the Muslims against the ruling party's
alliance with the BJP?

Who fills the vacuum in Jammu may not be of immediate national concern.
=46or even more extremist Hindus are supposed to remain patriots; though
with extremist Muslims in Kashmir they could form another vicious
circle.

Muslims, however, face a more serious dilemma. Their electoral behaviour
is not merely a protest against the ruling parties at the State and the
Centre but against the Indian polity, which has left no room for their
self-expression. They are being forced to choose between a
non-performing and non-accountable Chief Minister who has become the
most servile ally of the BJP, on the one hand, and extremist
pro-Pakistan militants, on the other. Not everyone may consider the
latter to be a lesser evil, but few er people would consider the former
to be a lesser evil, and be inspired to rally round it to oppose the
latter.

The policy of adopting military measures against militants and
diplomatic measures against Pakistan will remain inadequate as long as
discontent within the State continues and the Indian system continues to
block all electoral and political outlets to it .

__________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH is an informal, independent &
non-profit citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.