The "G" Syndrome !!!

I was watching an interview on a local channel , the guest was Bilal Lone , son of the late Ab. Gani lone , a former legislator turned separatist leader . I must tell you that this has been one of the most crappy interview's i have ever come across.This makes my belief even stronger that all the so called leaders of Kashmir are a confused lot . It's an irony that we have such Gas bags claiming to be our leaders. I wonder how can they claim that they have the acumen to lead Kashmir from this intractable quagmire.

In his interview he admits that he accepted money from one source and not two . I guess referring to the Hardliner leader SAS Geelani, suggesting that he accepts from two. He admits everything is very confusing in his amalgam the Hurriyat (M) and also makes a fool himself by proposing that they represent the people of Kashmir. His Interview was more on the life of Geelani , and his bashing him saw no end .

The Geelani scare writ large on his face.

My suggestion : Don't Fumble, if you dont have facts!

Har shak pey Uloo baitha hai ..anjaamay gulistan kya hoga.......

HUMAN RIGHTS

No place has been more synonymous with oppression of people of Kashmir in recent history than Kashmir, and nowhere was the abuse more brutal than here. From a rape case of a minor in South Kashmir to Killing of another in the heart of the city .From killing of a teacher to the abduction of Mehran ,and how can I forget the world largest exodus of Kashmiri Pundits. And the story goes on and on. Everyone is equally responisble, the army, militants, politicians, officers ,and many more. Lets find out the different dimension of human rights abuse here and else where.

Atrocities

I was watching a video on the You tube, a foreign Journalist was covering a couple of story, It was really heart rendering to find that a whole village on Khonon-Khushpora in Kashmir has been a victim of mass rape. I was literally stunned. The human Rights have recorded the statements of 53 females. It’s learnt that the male members were taken out of their houses and about 53 women were gang raped. The youngest 13 and the oldest 80. The unwed females cannot get married and those who are married are living a life of hell, with no one to share their pain. It’s learnt that many females have been divorced. I am not sure about the authenticity of the numbers but apparently it looks like real , while as I was just surfing around the net I found another video , An attack on an army convoy, were a soldier was killed, the army’s response – 300 shops and houses were burnt to ground. In a democracy no one expects atrocities to happen. Peoples mandate is people’s voice. You ought to listen that what the world order has taught us today. Every one has to be accountable to what he does, whether anyone likes it or not ? However, all these values seem to vanish when a person enters Kashmir. I guess the Champions of 'Khushal Kashmir', the 'healing Touch; or the 'fans of McDonald’s restaurants' were just trying to score cheap points with the masses and soon forgot their election promises....

Gender Bias

According to a survey conducted by an NGO I read recently, the cases of Suicides have gone up. More than 38 per cent of the women interviewed said they were forced to marry against their will and 50 per cent said they were unhappy with their marriage because of domestic abuse. Official acquiescence to reactionary social forces and the Male Domination has meant that many of the hard-won gains made towards equality are now at risk. In Kashmir, one has to agree that their is gender bais. It’s a well known fact that females are more sober and very weak at heart. Its really heart rendering to know that many have lost their dear ones in front of their eyes. Economic problems have followed the loosening of social strictures for many women. They are now allowed to work, albeit sometimes grudgingly, but with high male unemployment they are often the main breadwinners at a time of rapidly rising prices.

What happens Else where

Like in Afghanistan before the Hamid Karzai took over it was impossible to find women not covered by burqas, the symbol of Taliban gender domination. And many women had to hide the fact that they work from their neighbors for fear of insults, or worse. The so called Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan burnt schools and beheaded teachers for daring to offer education to girls. Judges most conservative form of Sharia law routinely sent women and girls to prison for disobeying their father's choice in marriage, or deserting violent husbands. Rape victims ended up facing charges of adultery. Didn’t we hear such demands from our own so called leaders? Thank god people did not get carried away by lofty promises and hallow slogans. Despite all this stacked against our society, our women fought back. Girls were encouraged and working-class women went to workshops behind the back of male members of the family. Increasingly, women are now turning to all the fields of life, and even politics?

And Finally

There is a rule of thumb among those whose job it is to literally pick up the pieces after such bloody conflicts. You seldom find more than half the bodies. In many conflict areas people on their return found the bodies of their friends and relatives lying in their houses or gardens, in roadside ditches, or scattered through the forests and mountains. The remains were quickly buried in individual graves, prayers spoken and word was passed about who had been found. There was no reason to seek out the Red Cross to add their names to the list of the missing. Their fate was known. The APDP stages a protest every now and then , who will answer their woes about all the missing people , for god sake we live in a 21^st century and ought to know were are dear ones are . In many countries, an attempt was made to learn from the past, and to act sooner rather than later. It is a tough decision to take, but one that could not and should not be dodged. Or should we watch from far as the victims wail with grief on our television screens, and then a year or so later - when the dead have long been buried and memories have blurred - decide that maybe all those human right activist or international observers were just trying to fool us after all

BARBARISM

Your eyes speak everthing ....Asrar

May you rest in peace

The rape and murder of two young girls has not even entered its second month that this young boy was found dead with his throat slit.

Asrar Mushtaq, 19, a 2nd year student at Islamia College, Zadibal had gone missing on Friday evening after he had left home for gym. Police recovered his throat-slit body from Sheikh Mohalla near Malkha in old city late last night and handed it over to his family this morning.

The police i am told have treated this case very irresponsibly, otherwise why could'nt they find a single clue about his wherabouts in 6 days. I am told that this young boy was a promising student from a good home. He was not involved in any criminal activities. The appalling reality seems to be that this young man was also killed by the same agensies who killed the young girls of shopian.

This murder also raises worrying questions about who is safe in kashmir. Its just free for all , We are entering a dangerous period . It is vital that all Kashmiris, of every poltical idelogy, maintain a sense of perspective and confront this barbarism whenever it appears with a united voice of condemnation.

There is a complete misconception in certain societies about Muslims, probably out of ignorance. They must understand that not every Muslim is a “terrorist”, and not every “terrorist” is a Muslim. Till good sense does not prevail on them it would be very hard for either side to restore and respect the aspirations of their individual self, writes Tanvir Sadiq.

I have heard from my elders about laws practiced by the Maharajas during the Dogra rule, and they say that if a Muslim committed a murder, he would be sentenced to death, whereas if a non-Muslim would do it, he would be let off for a measly fine of one rupee! That token fine of one rupee seems outrageous, but is it really any different now? In those days, at least the non-Muslim perpetrators were identified and the public was made aware of who the murderer was - such is my reasoning for the Maharajas imposing the token one-Rupee fine: to identify the killers. Can we say that the situation has really changed since then, or have we taken a turn for the worse? Has the AFSPA changed this same "Maharaja reasoning" for the worst such that not even a token one-Rupee fine, or identifying the killers, for murdering Kashmiris is deemed worth the hassle for the Central Government?
My argument is how much have we changed since then? It’s for all of us to reflect upon. The same elders who narrated the above anecdote about the token fine also like to reminisce about the time when western tourists, visiting our valley during the Dogra times used to write about Kashmiris as the, "..most gentle race of people who have been subjugated.." Sadly, 9/11 has changed the entire mindset of the west. The level of suspicion against Muslims in general is such that even if you carry the best secular credentials, if your passport reads a Muslim name you have to be a subject of surveillance.
What aggravates this for all Muslims is when an incident like the 7/7 takes place and our worst fears materialize when we again discover that Muslims were behind that crime. Those events send you in deep reflection. What has gone wrong and where?
I am not an Arabic scholar, and do not speak or read that beautiful language. But I am thankful to my dad who gifted me an Edward Pickthal English translation of the Holy Qu’ran. I have yet to find a singleayaat where a Muslim is allowed to use violence against innocent people. There is no such term as "Collateral Damage" in the Holy Qu’ran, but it warns us that "..killing a single human is like killing an entire nation.."
Some over-excited extremists thought that they would achieve something by killing innocent people in America, Spain, London, Morocco, and the list of places with terrorist attacks by self-styled Muslims is endless but instead they ruined the prospects of a modern Muslim who wanted to create an atmosphere of peace for himself and the world and live strictly according to the sprit of brotherhood and tolerance as enunciated by Islam. There is a total misconception in certain societies about Muslims, probably out of ignorance; they should also understand that not every Muslim is a terrorist, and not every terrorist is a Muslim. Till good sense does not prevail on them it would be very hard for either side to restore and respect the aspirations of their individual self.

The situation in Kashmir seems to be very peculiar and unpredictable, the words 'firing', 'grenades' and 'undeclared curfew' have become so very common that we take it as part of our daily lives. Gone are the days when people would console a family for days together and not even the mohallas but also the entire area where a tragedy has occurred would get involved in the last rites. We as individuals have become very circumscribed and take sadistic pleasure in seeing people in agony. We have people who die and are forgotten as if they never existed, the hundred and thousands of people who have been injured or disabled for a lifetime. How many of us have come forward and helped them. Some were the only bread-earners in the family and some the pillar of strength.
We claim to be in the 21st century and lack even the basic care. We afford mobile phones but cannot afford to pay a small amount to such people. We spend millions for dowry and marriages but find it below our dignity to pay some amount to the orphanage. Hypocrites! That’s what we have become? I know there are people who do contribute and in a very dignified manner but at the same time there are so many Kashmiris who have settled outside India, it is their inherent obligation to extend a helping hand to their brethrens back home. Time and again I have seen columns by Kashmiris settled outside and their concern about the prevailing situation. It is indeed a very healthy sign but how effective have they been in contributing to any aspect of lives. Only they know.
The past month has seen the repetition of agony and trauma that Kashmiri has become so used to now. The every action and reaction makes me wonder where we are heading towards? I just heard of another attack in the city. Whenever such an attack takes place it’s only the innocent who lose their lives, we only facilitate in counting the dead bodies and with little amazement ask each other “How many this time”.
It’s high time that we react. We have to come forward and should have the courage to write what we feel even if it means displeasing some one. We are real heirs of this trouble torn state and it’s only us who have to come forward and try to initiate a process of rebuilding our place. We should write about the ill effect of all that’s happening here while as the good part is often exaggerated time and again by our leaders. Shouldn’t we be talking about our veins having been injected with poison of selfishness?
And finally, while I write this I think that to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree with. God Bless Kashmir.

Ahhh....

Here the pictures speak louder than the words...







Boulvard Srinagar

In better times.

The centre of srinagar , the famous LAL CHOWK ( Red Square).

Turned into a garrison.

TRUTH WILL TRIUMPH

It is given for any person to become enraged at the suggestion that two innocent girls were raped and murdered in Shopian. But it is very easy to join the mob and participate in a witch hunt than to suggest that we stand back and think calmly. After all, one can never be criticized for saying things that are the popular sentiment at the time. Sadly, without any witnesses and strong evidence, the common sentiment in Kashmir is that our two little sisters in Shopian were raped and murdered. I am not denying that a heinous incident took place in Shopian, but I would like to suggest that we wait till all details of the incident are investigated by experts.
The truth is that we still do not know all the facts that surround these tragic deaths. Just like all Kashmiris, I have read all the news stories, confirmed from reliable sources, and have come to the conclusion that the experts should be given time to find out the truth about this most unfortunate incident. If the forensic experts conclude that the girls were in fact victims of rape and murder, then no stone should be left unturned to hunt down the perpetrators, and in bringing them to justice. But the emphasis is on the term “if”, which means that we should trust the doctors, investigators, and the Kashmir police ( Considering they are themselves Kashmiris, perhaps with young daughters of their own) to perform their job thoroughly and only then draw our conclusions.
The other option is that we leave our justice system to the mob and various other political groups with their own vested interests, who will decide the outcome of any tragic incident that happens in Kashmir. In that case, we would not need any forensic experts, no DNA testing, and no police investigation because the leaders of the mob will be deciding the outcome of any unfortunate incident that takes place in Kashmir. It makes me so sad that people are not able to see through the crocodile tears of PDP leaders such as Mehbooba Mufti. As if any complaints against the security forces were ever investigated, let alone concluded, during the time her party was in power. Therefore her antics of attempting to march to Shopian makes no sense other than make her look desperate for attention.
I am fully aware that there is a trust deficit for the administration in Kashmir because of the actions and hollow promises of successive previous governments here. But is it fair that we banish the word “trust” from our vocabulary for ever? I do not think it is fair because I truly believe that the saying “When deeds speak, words are nothing” applies to our current CM. He squeezed out the truth about the Bomai murders even when everyone saw a dead-end. He made sure that justice was served in the Khaigam murder even when the perpetrators were calling it a militant encounter. Given these facts why should I not believe Omar when he asks me to wait till the experts conclude their investigation?
Let me for a moment examine the argument of the leaders currently inciting Kashmiris. They want us to believe that the current administration is hushing up the case somehow. This argument is preposterous. If this were the case then the inquiry into the Bomai murders would not have implicated the army personnel against tremendous pressure from the army or the investigation into the Khaigman murders would not have concluded that the CRPF men committed a murder. The investigation in both cases was called by Omar Abdullah and was carried out independently by the Kashmir Police without outside pressure from the CM’s office. If the CM was somehow trying to hush up all cases of human rights violations, then he would not discriminate about which case to hush up and which case to proceed forward with.
I fail to see why the current investigation would be hushed up or altered in any way. Not only is a man of impeccable character like Justice Jan leading this investigation, there is also a team of doctors assisting in the investigation. It will be very hard for the truth to be suppressed collectively by all these respected Kashmiri professionals investigating this case. I have full faith in the investigators, forensic experts, the doctors and the DNA specialists to determine whether the young girls were raped and murdered.
And lastly, if we do not see reason then I believe that the greatest tragedy in the deaths of our dear sisters is the hijacking of this incident by some self obsessed leaders for their own narrow interests. I believe that law should take its course in all such unfortunate incidents, and for any civilized society it is imperative that we let the investigators thoroughly do their job and get to the bottom of a case without outside pressure. We want the truth to emerge no matter how bitter it is.

A Letter from USA!

Greater Kashmir
Perspective
28th May 2009

VIEW POINT

I have been in the US for just over a month now and I can only describe my initial observations and experiences of this great country in two words - awe inspiring! The purpose of my visit here, as Americans would describe it, is to "seek out a little silence" . I am very grateful to the US embassy for making the visa process easy for young Kashmiris like myself, unlike some other countries whose visa process in itself is a nerve wrecking experience. I am certain that the more interaction there is between young people of Kashmir and other westerners when they visit countries such as America, the more hope there is that we can learn from their success and replicate it back home. All human civilizations and peoples around the world have the potential and capabilities of defeating fundamentalism, poverty, chaos, hatred and corruption, and also possess the means to cooperate together so that their neighbourhoods, villages, towns, and cities have some semblance of belonging to the 21st century. Yet why is it that democracy in its true sense is only exercised in western countries? and why is a strong community spirit and civic sense only present in citizens of those western countries and not among fellow citizens back home in Kashmir?
I am not for one second implying that Indian democracy is not genuine or that it is flawed. What I am suggesting is that democratic values and morals have yet to permeate the deepest psyche of Indians . I am linking democratic values with civic sense because I believe they are strongly interlinked. Some readers will perhaps disagree with me even before reading this full article and argue that my initial assertion is inherently flawed because I am comparing oranges with apples. They will note the difference in population between India and EU and North American countries and use this to attempt a justification for the slow pace of development in India. They will finally make the case that India has only had 60 years since gaining independence while most western countries were once colonisers who robbed their colonies of wealth, or some others, like the US, who themselves were colonies but have had a good head start of over 150 years. While this is true, India has only been an independent country for just over sixty years and the infrastructural development has been taking place in leaps and bounds during this time, I somehow feel that the malls and flyovers are a mere facade that hides the real problem that is holding India back. In my opinion, the problem lay with our society as a whole and not just with a gargantuan population or bad governance.
In my opinion, democracy should not only run top-down, which means that the government espouses democratic values, as well as bottom-up, which means that people can freely elect and choose their law makers, but democracy should also run sideways or horizontal, which means that people should be respectful of the rights of their fellow citizens. What I mean by this is that practising democracy should not simply end when citizens cast their votes to elect their representatives, but rather, democratic values should encompass each and every interaction that a person has with their fellow citizens. This is one of the biggest differences that I have observed during my stay in America. Everything that is different in America has to do with how people treat their fellow citizens, their public places, and other amenities that they have to share with their community. In other words, people are respectful of others and follow common sense so as not to infringe upon the democratic rights of their fellow citizens.
Some readers might be perplexed about what I mean by infringing upon a fellow citizens democratic rights; after all, no one in India is holding a gun to someone's head in broad day light to do something they do not want to - at least not regularly, because I am not referring to crime here. The democratic rights of fellow citizens that I am referring to has to do with common everyday interaction with a person's neighbours, community and fellow countrymen and women. I believe that a person's democratic right to a clean environment is trampled every time they have to walk through someone else's trash that people are careless enough to just dump out on public roads. I also believe that a person's democratic right to safe roads is trampled when rash drivers ignore traffic laws, and cause traffic chaos and traffic jams. Most important of all, I believe that a person's democratic right to liberty is trampled when their fellow citizens discriminate against them because of their ethnicity, religion, or caste.
Sadly, our Indian society as a whole still has yet to come out of its self imposed shell to treat our fellow citizens with respect regardless of our ethnic backgrounds. In contrast, I find Americans very law abiding and mind their own business. Many readers will probably cite various stories of institutionalized racism and discrimination in America that we hear every now and then. But the common theme and conclusion in stories like those is that something is done about those incidents by the authorities. The law takes its course, and the guilty are brought to justice no matter how high up the position they occupy in government. Can we, in India, truly claim that accusations of torture or harassment by Kashmiris against police or Hindutva radicals in other parts of India are investigated by the authorities, and the guilty brought to justice ? Sadly, these events are simply reported in the local papers one day and that is the last we hear of these cases. The victims never see justice. This is totally in contrast to how incidents similar to these are treated in the US, where all claims of excessive force by the police are treated very seriously.
I hope that we all realize that each and every interaction we have with our fellow citizens is an opportunity to exercise democracy. The opportunity to treat others like we would ourselves like to be treated. Something to think about the next time we dump garbage in front of our neighbour's house or on sidewalks, or when we disobey traffic laws to make our way through traffic, or when we vandalise public property, or when we speak poorly of other religions or sects, or when we witness our fellow citizens become victims of injustice and choose not to speak up. Yes these are indeed examples of how democracy has yet to permeate our society and how the Americans practice them daily and is a part of their life
And Finally, I guess most of Indians are stubborn enough and will never concede that we can learn a lot from the Americans. After all, if they were mature enough to overwhelmingly elect President Obama, a black man, to the highest office, we can at least agree that a majority of Americans are not racists. On the other hand, can we in India claim that most Indian citizens are able to look beyond their preconceived notions about Kashmiris and hypothetically elect him or her as Prime Minister or President of India? President Obama gave all Americans hope that every one of them can realize their dreams in this "land of opportunities". The day our fellow Indians from other states stand up and speak up if they witness a Kashmiri being a victim of harassment is when I will truly believe that the "Yes We Can" slogan that President Obama uses in America can also be used by all Kashmiris in other states of India. Until that day, I will continue to believe that democracy has yet to permeate and trickle down to the common masses of India.

http://paper.greaterkashmir.com/2852009/showtext.aspx?parentid=2997&boxid=23332315

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=28_5_2009&ItemID=22&cat=11

The Young India- Huh?

Congres party’s 201-seat tally has been the best ever since a long time now, The people of India clearly ignored communalism, caste-ism, and voted for stability.The youth power showed its existance.

The general election of 2009 has been significant for congress. The only reason congress staged a comeback was because of the youth brigade. The gen-next leaders of the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi,with the likes of Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora, Priya Dutt and many more.People wanted new faces, young blood and new ideas. They got them elected . I am told that it is for the first time that millions of newly registered voters came out to vote but strangely none of the 19 minsters inducted in to the Manmohan Singh's cabniet belong to the youth catagory. Except Mamata banerjee off course who they claim is the youngest . Million dollars to Guess her age?

Whatever happens later , even if there is an induction and some young faces are inducted , it wont have the same effect as it would have on friday. The youth have and will be a target of all the leaders in india for their selfish gains.

Just received a Message in the autonomy group of Face Book,It say'z "How does it help kashmir with the happenings in the Indian ministry" .. Well a matter for debate...

Sign Out.....

WE LACK LEADERSHIP?

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet





We have answered so many astonishing questions in the century gone by — can we put a man on the moon? How do atoms work? But mysteries endure, and even after a century, we are no closer to an answer for the greatest of historical questions: Where do leaders come from? It’s a lively question as we gaze at the pink morning of a new dawn, a question that vibrates with possibility and that engages both our hopes and fears: Who will be the Nalsen Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, or Khomeni of 2007? Will we have another Hitler? Who will rescue us from him? It's a historical tautology that leaders are generated by their times and that great issues produce great men. And while we can't predict the leaders of the next decade, let alone the century, we can at least glimpse the likely shape of their era.

While recent history was written at the intersection of ideologies — communism versus capitalism, fascism versus democracy — the end of the cold war has produced a collection of other, more subtle challenges. In places as diverse as Kosovo and Colombo, new history is being written in the blood of deep-seated ethnic panics. "Global politics is being reconfigured along Religions lines,” Political boundaries are increasingly redrawn to coincide with cultural ones: ethnic, religious and civilization." At the same time, much of the world is being remade by a global economy that has linked political openness to economic growth. Democracy, always a moral high ground, turns out to be good for business. But the idea that we are moving toward a single global culture is both wrong and dangerous. Economic strength and social mobility will unlock a new, more complex balance of power as even simple ideas about how we live our lives come into question.

It reminds me of President Musharaf Book “In the Line of Fire”. I personally found that book quite interesting and believe me for a generation I belong; it is an eye opener, about how a country can break in a jiffy if right decisions are not made at the right time . Many people suggested it as self proclamation but if a person who becomes the Army Chief of a country and then has the guts to become the president and Chief Executive, explains how he rose to become the most known faces of the world, in my opinion does not need to write a book to become a hero , He is already one!. The book explains how a leader has to become flexible in his decision. Had Pakistan decided to go the other way may be it would have been wiped out of the map. The general showed farsightedness and saved his country from destruction. It is he who brought Pakistan back on the track and don’t forget it is he who initiated the peace talks between India and Pakistan . Never in the history of subcontinent has a Pakistani ruler, not only gone out of way to talk of a purposeful and acceptable solution to Kashmir but also given one. You like it or not, he is emerging as a great leader and in the contemporary world a strong statesmen. According to his book “Leadership is inborn to a degree , but it can be acquired through effort , It is an art , not all science .It is an art of interacting and talking with people , it is the art of reacting to situations and is an art of meeting challenges, what most people like in most of our leaders, aside from his character is decisiveness, as well as boldness and a cool temperament . A leader must understand his environment in all its intricacy. He must always have a finger on the pulse of times. I read in one of the write ups from a UK tabloid that it is paradoxical that elsewhere the western countries talk of democracy but when it comes to Pakistan the choice is always the dictatorship. The army is not accountable and as long as the General is in uniform they have a say. I like many disagree with such an assertion, an average Pakistani has seen the futility of war and he has seen how regime after regime has exploited the situation. He wants peace and if it is available by an army men, why not..., hasn’t he done an excellent job! Like he puts it quite stringy that a leader has to have the ability to motivate, inspire them infuse confidence in them. The nation must see the leader perform upfront .Only a man of real substance can be a true leader. In such a queue, I find him on top!. Most people are seduced by the lure of the comfort zone. The average person, when he feels the storm swirling outside his comfort zone, rushes back inside where it’s nice and warm. But not the true leader. The true leader has the courage to step away from the familiar and comfortable zone and to face the unknown with no guarantees of success. It is this ability to “boldly go where no man has gone before” that distinguishes you as a leader from the average person. This is the example that you must set if you are to rise above the average. It is this example that inspires and motivates other people to rise above their previous levels of accomplishment as well. Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, was one of the most superb leaders of all time. He became king at the age of 19, when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. In the next 11 years, he conquered much of the known world, leading his armies against numerically superior forces.Yet, when he was at the height of his power, the master of the known world, the greatest ruler in history to that date, he would still draw his sword at the beginning of a battle and lead his men forward into the conflict. He insisted on leading by example. Alexander felt that he could not ask his men to risk their lives unless he was willing to demonstrate by his actions that he had complete confidence in the outcome. The sight of Alexander charging forward so excited and motivated his soldiers that no force on earth could stand before them.

Over the years, we have been led to believe that leaders are those who stride boldly about, exude power and confidence, give orders and make decisions for others to carry out. However, that is old school. The leader of today is the one who asks questions, listens carefully, plans diligently and then builds consensus among all those who are necessary for achieving the goals. The leader does not try to do it by himself or herself. The leader gets things done by helping others to do them. In the lighter vein as Groucho Marx puts it “Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.

In the world where emails and communication are backbones of a VIBRANT nations there have been people from around the world who are fighting, with careful passion, for their beliefs.. We tend to beleive that we are living in peaceful times, but short, temporary bursts of tranquility have followed all the major wars of this century — think of the Roaring Twenties and the boom years of the 1950s. Today’s leaders have to ensure that the current era of peace and prosperity continues long after the close of the cold war. The next 100 years will bubble with questions that are as difficult as the ones we have faced in this century. Perhaps, because of their incredible subtlety, these questions are even more difficult. And our future leaders? Ultimately, just like Churchill and Reagan and Mandela, they will find the answers to these hard questions in their own hearts. If there is one lesson of the past 100 years, it is that conscience remains the truest guide. "A man does what he must," . We have wasted enough years hoping for the impossible. As I said in the beginning, the world geography has been changing every fifty years. May be it does someday. Till then let us opt for peace and progress. In the changed global context boundaries are disappearing and narrow nationalism is fast losing its appeal. Economy is preceding ideals and ideologies. We have entered an era where hollow slogans and destructive emotionalism have absolutely no relevance. It’s high time that people start taking decisions. As they rightly say “You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.

LIVE LIFE

MUSINGS OF A DREAMER

Can it be all peace one day?

They may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

People who know me well can make an educated guess that one of my favorite pastimes is writing. Who would know this better than my family, especially my father, who got me into the habit of writing from early on. And on his last visit to the US, he even bought me a book titled "The Little Brown Handbook for Writers." It is a fantastic book for budding writers and has all information that one would need, neatly arranged in easy to find sections. On the topic of essay writing, the book suggests that each essay should focus on one idea, which we should divulge early on in a thesis statement, and the later paragraphs should primarily develop the main idea. I however intend to break that rule for this write up and will attempt to squeeze in multiple ideas totally unrelated to each other. Therefore if this article seems like a south-bound Shalimar express which snakes through and stops at every little station on its way, please do not start dozing off as you would on a real train; but instead, sit back and enjoy the ride.
I have to confess that the issues I will attempt to address are not something that anyone would "sit back and enjoy" per se, but these are real thought provoking, serious issues facing us today and need meaningful debate. The first issue that I would like to talk about today is the recent ruling by a Supreme Court judge ridiculing the choice of many Muslim men to grow a beard. I feel that this verdict is preposterous, not only because it has every sign of religious intolerance, but also because the choice of words used by the judge while delivering the verdict only highlights his insensitivity to Muslim religious practices.
This is not the India I know and love. This is not religious coexistence. I keep wondering what on earth could possibly be the motive behind the judge's reasoning. What did he really want to accomplish? The only thing that these kinds of events help in is that they further alienate Muslims and helps fan the flames of religious extremism. I have to concede that it does vindicate some people in Pakistan who hold the view that there are anti-Muslim forces within India.
I talk about Pakistan a lot because I feel we are part of the same family. Talking about a different nation as being our sister-country, for instance, China, would be un-natural; however, India and Pakistan have a millennia of shared history. We have cultural similarity, have same tastes in food, same musical likings, and even share the same national sport; therefore, it pains to see both our countries being ravished by extremist forces, who try to exploit the only difference between the majority of Indians and majority of Pakistanis - religion.
There are extremist elements in all countries. They come in all flavors. If Pakistan has its vocal share of extremists, so does India. The only difference is that their religions are switched, and perhaps the colour of the clothes that the perpetrators are wearing (which may or may not include a beard in case of Indian fanatics, however. But they perhaps will be wearing saffron bandanas). The motives of harassing non-believers remain the same, and so do the curtailing of women's rights and freedom of ordinary people, especially minorities. The stakes are higher when these extremists assume a position of power.
The verdict by Justice Katju gives credence to the fears of many Kashmiris who harbor separatist’s ideals. These type of events seem to vindicate their fears they have had all these years. I will not deny that the fear that communal forces within India such as BJP, Jan Sangh and others disperse among Kashmiris is real and understandable. The recent threat by BJP to abolish Article 370 is a good example of their polemic tactics to further alienate Kashmiris. This brings me to an anecdote about a thick-bearded, pious, and well-spoken acquaintance of mine who also happens to prescribe to separatist ideology. He happened to stop by my place on his way to Hazratbal. While we were arguing about issues all and sundry, it was natural that he would bring up this topic of the Supreme Court ruling against Muslim beards into the discussion. Surprisingly, the usually soft-spoken and mild mannered friend lost his cool when I reasoned that we should not take this rare and isolated ruling and paint all of India with the same brush. That would be wrong and flawed reasoning. Hearing my argument made him quite furious and I should have known better, because I had to be the recipient of his anti-India tirade for almost half-an-hour. Once he was done frothing at the lips calling me an array of names such as an Indian agent, an IB agent, a traitor, the heated discussion ebbed a little bit with the arrival of Kehwa and biscuits, and we were back to exchanging pleasantries.
I mentioned to him that there is always an ongoing battle between progressive elements in the society and the conservatives. Between the welcoming and the bigots. Between the peace-lovers and the intolerant. In short, there has always been a battle between the good and the evil, and there always will. This is true of any country in the world. Even if Kashmir were to secede from India, these very forces would rear their ugly head and the same cycle would be repeated again.
We would be doing a big disservice to the secular, progressive movement in India by taking an isolated incident and painting a picture of gloom over all of the good that India has to offer. I have always felt that Kashmiris should not give a reason to embolden the communal forces in India. Hypothetically speaking, should Kashmir ever separate from India, we would be deceiving the millions of Muslims and other peace-loving majority of Indian citizens.
However, given the volatile circumstances, I would suggest that national politicians not further confuse the voters by claiming that because 60% of Kashmiris voted in the assembly elections, that is a verdict to shelf the Kashmir issue. I truly believe that Kashmiris cannot withstand anymore double-crossing. It is a blatant disregard for the sentiments of Kashmiris to take them for a ride like this after six decades of insincerity from successive central governments. Most candidates in the last elections, including myself promised the voters that their vote is not a verdict to forget about resolving the Kashmir issue between India, Pakistan and all Kashmiris.
It is clear though that Kashmiris voted for peace, for change and have very high hopes tacked on the current government. Everyone can sense the enormous amount of expectations sought from Omar Abdullah. Are these expectations and hopes of ordinary Kashmiris from the current CM unrealistic? I do not blame people for having such high hopes considering the spate of governor rules and other governments that they have had to suffer through.
I believe there is a certain permanency in the words a person writes, but there is even more permanency in a person's actions. For instance, there is no better indication of a Chief Minister's caliber other than his actions. The speeches and interviews will be forgotten. The good news stories will be a distant memory just a short while from now. However, only ethical, upright and principled actions of the CM will be remembered by history. Spoken words are forgotten the next day; the written word is too much work to be dug up by historians - but actions are what make history and how he will be remembered many decades from now. The actions of Omar Abdullah in his few months of office speak for itself, and the only reason for mentioning this here is that Omar Abdullah should take it upon himself to be the catalyst for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
I would not be exaggerating if I mentioned that Omar Abdullah has an enormous amount of goodwill in India as well as in Pakistan. He could capitalize on that goodwill and bring both India as well as Pakistan to the discussion table. Better yet, he should demand that the two sides sit down and hammer out a solution. Because of the goodwill, he could get away with many things that other former CM's could not. For instance, he could host a "Indo-Pak peace summit" in Kashmir and invite all stake holders in the conflict to an open debate here. This would include representatives of the Pakistan government, the Kashmiri separatist leaders, representatives from all mainstream Kashmiri parties, and representatives from the Central Government. The idea is that more interaction between all stake holders will hasten the likelihood of a solution being agreed upon which is acceptable to all sides.
There can be no other permanent engraving of one's name in the history of the Indian subcontinent than to be remembered as the person responsible for bringing peace to Kashmir and turning the enmity of India and Pakistan into long-lasting prosperous friendship.
How far away is the day when a saffron-clad sadhu from Varanasi can travel to Pakistan, without needing a visa or without having to fear for his safety? Or how many decades till a long-bearded Moulvi from Balochistan can similarly travel to anywhere in India without needing a visa or have to suffer being called a "Taliban terrorist"? Is this mere wishful thinking? I do not think so. Reminds me of my all time favorite song by John Lennon, "They may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Greater Kashmir 16th April
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=16_4_2009&ItemID=26&cat=12

And he Did it !

If there is one lesson of the past 19 years, it is that conscience remains the truest guide. "A man does what he must,". Today Omar Abdullah proved what he says, the dead cannot be brought back but it will defiantly send a message to people who think elected governments are remote controlled by Delhi.

Many of my fellow bloggers have been so very against the present dispensation and the recent killings was one of their excuse to launch a diatribe against the CM , one of the bloggers had started a countdown game. No wonder he thought that running an elected government was as easy  as writing a blog. Although I am sure all of us condemned what happed in bomia, but we do not want Kashmir to be talbanaised, so in  a democracy everything happens under the umbrella called “LAW”. It has never happened in the history of Kashmir’s insurgency that the army has admitted that they are at fault and taken action against their JCO and some junior officers. Atleast give this credit to the CM, he made a beginning.

I am sure we have wasted enough years hoping for the impossible. The world geography has been changing every fifty years. May be it does someday. Till then let us opt for peace and progress. In the changed global context boundaries are disappearing and narrow nationalism is fast losing its appeal. Economy is preceding ideals and ideologies. We have entered an era where hollow slogans and destructive emotionalism have absolutely no relevance. It’s high time that people start taking decisions. As they rightly say “You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. 

Simmering Discontent .

A friend of mine sent me a link to a beautifully written article by a london based writer favoring separatism and claiming that election 2008 were farce, in a live situation created by the learned writer,he brings in a character called “Gulla” who thinks Mr Omar Abdullah undermined the election and said that election were just to build roads and bulidings. No further comments on that ?. There was a time if someone wrote that Kashmir was a disputed territory he would either be maimed for life or sent to Tihar. We have come a long way since the 50s and that proves the resilience of our democratic system. I differ on several of his observations. As a student of politics I feel sovereignty has lost much of its meaning in the present day changed global canvass or else why would America be in Iraq and Afghanistan or almost everywhere. Strategically Kashmir is every important and nothing will suite US interests better than Kashmir being independent. That will cut off the Karakoram Highway and not give access to China to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Then they can easily contain India, China, Russia and secure their economic interests in the Mid East. For Gods sake we don't want to get trampled in between.

The present situation was precipitated by even separatists for very narrow political ends. It misfired. Probably they did not foresee that it will bring the people to the ballot box and bring your sepratist leaders's to jump in to the electoral fray. The shrewdness has been replaced by naivety and political astuteness by uncanny adolescence. Kashmir once again is a loser.

You will very soon get to read such sordid stories of a new separatist leader planning to contest election .And yet, the society accords these parasites recognition and legitimacy. Pitiably, we seem to have accepted this phenomenon as a part of life and are scared even to raise our voices. we have heard sermons for past 20 years and when our leaders make lofty pronouncements it sounds as if they r abusing the entire society. And if something meaningful is said or done, you dismiss it by contempt (Read also the learned writer’s outburst against the present CM) The fact is that separatists have lost their credibility because all of them suffer from foot in the mouth disease. They don’t seem to realize tat they cannot play Gods and change everything overnight by mere rhetoric. Democracy is a mater of attitude n faith. Though it may vary from place to place n form one person to another, the benchmark continues to be “Of the people, by the people, for the people”. And what do we get instead, the gullible being hoodwinked by separatists.

The society is going through a very fast churning. Insurgency may have consumed part of one generation, but it has brought some awakening to the rest. The redeeming feature being that it is educated, perceptive and highly sensitive. It understands its role in the changed global context. It recognizes hypocritical religious bigots who had hypnotized it by the extremist mantra. It knows that resilience alone is the key to his success. Given an opportunity, it may dump the whole lot of the present garbage in the incinerator of history and evolve a system that we all will be proud of. Difficult but not impossible!

A Mothers Lap !

.......on women's day

 

Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world. There are many ways and words to explain what a mother is like but what is more important is whether we really obey one.

 

In this part of the world we have seen enough bloodshed, crime and criminals but generally it has always been a woman who has borne the brunt of the 19 years of tumult.

 

If we look at any house in the Rural Kashmir one can find thousands of Mothers, Half widows or young females have found themselves living under such de facto house arrest since the tumult began. They have been forced into this situation time and again leaving them at the mercy of religious or fundamentalists who have made it sure that they do not prosper .If you talk to women throughout Kashmir , from the brave few who have really started to free themselves from the intractable quagmire they are into, some of which are now being targeted by fundamentalist groups "They call it right to live ?" .The females of our society be it a mother , a wife , a sister or a daughter have stories about husbands and sons, fathers and brothers   who disappeared into mass graves and torture prisons under god knows who,  than tales of cousins and neighbors who have gone missing since 90's. If this was not enough then the sexual violence which even now haunts all of us, its simply shameful   yet we call ourselves the citizens of a great democracy. These days the sheer unpredictability of violence is what makes the fear so pervasive. Then, women may have been afraid to step out of line, but now they're afraid even to step outside their homes alone.

 

What people on all sides of this conflict fail to realize is that the ripple effect of all these cases of human rights violations is that the whole fabric of society gets torn apart. The infamous sex scandal, in my opinion, is a direct consequence of oppression by different agencies. There have been in excess of 100,000 deaths in the 19 years of violence; and twice the numbers are in jails in various parts of India. Many of these victims left behind young families with little or no financial security. In most poor households in Kashmir, it is the husband or father who is the sole bread-earner in the family, and his unfortunate death or arrest brings devastation to the family. Not only is the next of kin emotionally devastated, but they usually also have little or no economic security, which compounds their grief.T he loss of the husband or father is even more heart-wrenching if he is survived by young daughters or a young wife. No sooner the victim of the security forces is buried or arrested, the women of the household come to realize the enormity of their loss. They have to find work and feed the family. Support from the extended family and friends is usually meager. This is when sharks in the government and police stoop to the lowest a man possibly can; they prey on these innocent victims by promise of class IV jobs, or release from jail of their loved ones, or outright solicitation of prostitution.

 

The above observation, even though most of us would want to be incorrect, cannot be much deviated from the truth. No one ever predicted that the insurgency would precipitate prostitution as one of its off-shoots. The usual knee-jerk reaction is to blame all those involved for not doing enough to prevent this scourge from rearing its head. There can be many opinions about who the victims of prostitution are, but very few will disagree that it is a consequence of oppression by security forces, indifference by successive state governments and above all being neglected by the society .

 

As they rightly say, All that remains to the mother in modern consumer society is the role of scapegoat; psychoanalysis uses huge amounts of money and time to persuade analysis and to foist their problems on to the absent mother, who has no opportunity to utter a word in her own defense. Hostility to the mother in our societies is an index of mental health. Although my intention was not to bring the issue of violence against women but we have seen enough and the mental trauma that is evident from the face of an average mother, a sister or a daughter , should be an enough indicator to all humans that we really need to respect a female in a shape of a mother,and not only celebrate the woman's day

PDP's Melodrama

The recent melodramatic moves of the PDP in which they disrupted procedures in the Assembly and rued over human rights violations by the RR makes me wonder whether they are better suited for Bihar politics. Before, while they were in power, and while they had every opportunity to rectify whichever draconian laws they are thumping their chests against, they instead chose to just pay lip service at that time. Now that the Omar Abdullah administration is actually practicing the doctrine of "actions speak louder than words", the PDP is sadly assuming the role of a disruptor.  I believe there is no harm in them trying to don the mantle of messiahs by seeking revocation of the AFSPA or tabling the Self-Rule document (if it does exist), but I would suggest they work together with the NC and cooperate with them to alleviate the miseries of common people instead of resorting to hollow sloganeering in the Assembly. Even the devil can quote the scripture. But will we and must we believe them? 

Justice will prevail !

My heart goes out to the two youths killed , you cannot justify killing of two youth in unprovoked firing by the some black sheep in the army.I am sure they will be nailed very soon. 

When a newspaper covers certain stories, it's almost impossible to learn enough about them to offer a thoroughly informed opinion on what the real position is .What emerges from the magisterial inquiry remains to be seen. But i am sure it will reflect the best interest of Kashmiris. 

This is not the time to find faults in others but to see that such incidents do not happen again. In this small note of mine i wll not count dayz and hours but will sincerely hope that the culprits are behind bars very soon. 

I am sure justice will prevail !

The Other Side....

This one on my friends Request...

Lately there has been a lot of hue and cry about the dog menace because of a recent surge in the number of attacks on people. The question is then, if a street dogs violent nature is derived from human intervention, then wouldn't it be safe to say that the responsibility lies solely with us. There is no question that infected or rabid dogs are dangerous. In fact, most breeds have the potential to be very aggressive, which can usually be determined by the way the dog is brought up during the early stages of its life. Whether or not street dogs have ever attacked a person or another animal is not the issue, it's more about the dog's capacity to do so. For instance, all the breeds or individual animals have the potential to be aggressive and vicious. If a “poodle” felt the urge to attack a person, it is most likely that the person would be capable of successfully defending him or herself. Yet if a, Rotweiller, Doberman pinscher or pit bull is to attack a person; it is unlikely that an average person would come out of the attack unharmed. The primary reason dog attacks are so prominent and dangerous in modern society is because people who as a matter of right throw stones or scare them even if the  poor animal does not intend to harm them .In Kashmir we have a very unique feature of treating a dog either as very dangerous or as a filthy animal. This mindset has crept in our society so much that even educated people feel very uncomfortable, should they see a dog any where .Then a very important aspect in our Muslim dominated society is to consider dogs as very unhygienic and religiously highly untouchable. While the majorities outside Kashmir are animal lovers who look after their dogs with so that it is gentle, faithful and kind, here we have a different line to go on.

 

I do agree if any animal including dogs pose a threat to humans then it’s quite understandable to think of killing them but you cannot massacre all others for the fault of few. This is definitely a problem to be addressed but we have to be humane .After all we all are humans and we ought to be different from animals and poisoning is simply no solution. You agree or you don’t?

 

Srinagar and its adjoining areas has been a victim of Dog Menace for all these years .Its a known fact that the paramilitary forces breed the street dogs and feed them well in return for staying vigilant and barking on strangers, its evident everywhere one see’s a security picket. As an animal lover, I am not against the idea of feeding them but the violent nature they possess by this behavior is grave. An animal will only attack when it feels at risk from someone .Then the question is why animals especially dog’s attack humans? I still feel that the poor animal should not be poisoned if it does not pose any danger to any one. That is both religiously and humanly wrong. We really need environmentalists to find a better solution. If the government's goal is to stop the number of dog attacks on people, then they need a comprehensive program.

 

If a solution is in the offing then I think this is the one, I really feel would have a great effect and control the dog menace in and around Srinagar. “We are in for a solution to this problem and the program will stretch for 5 years”, was the first comment of Elizabeth Evans a South African veterinarian who happened to be a member of the British Union for Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) who I incidentally met in the office of the health officer SMC two years back . She sounded optimistic and quite adamant to help curb this menace that has hit Srinagar and the adjoining districts. In an informal Chat with me she told me that it’s very important to treat these animals with compassion and love, this was so unheard because in this part of the world we usually don’t hear such words for even humans-Animals are far away!. But honestly I could see that urge she had in her to help. She said she is in for a solution but no doubt it is a lengthy process stretching to 5 years but sooner or later I will prove to be successful. Her experiment could have succeeded had the then government taken a little interest. The latest I hear that she had left Srinagar dejected the same month she had met me.

 

It is every citizen’s inherent obligation to dream and secure our city from all ills .If we are unable to do so, we have no right to claim our civic rights? 

Bad faith

I would like to summarize in brief the salient points of my article that I recently wrote for Greater Kashmir. (Disparate views should not be a hinderance)

• There are people thinking that there is a grand conspiracy being hatched in Delhi to keep Kashmir under-developed.
• That we should trust Omar in steering us away from the rut that we have been stuck in for the past two decades. We can benefit from his very excellent relations with the central government.
• That in cooperating with Omar for the development of the state, people who chose to stay away from the polls will not be giving up their hopes for the final resolution of the Kashmir issue. I quoted Omar who has repeatedly promised that a vote for the development of the state would not be a vote to shelf the Kashmir issue.
• For the benefit of all Kashmiris, I suggested people stop propagating hartals to hinder development in Kashmir.
• My main ambition in politics is to see Kashmir at par with other beautiful cities in the world.
• My suggestion is that we invite experts from Holland to teach us how to start greenhouses on a large scale. They are world-leaders in greenhouse technology.
• I have experience in getting development works completed with people's participation.
• I respect all views, including those of the separatists. Everyone is entitled to their views
• That we should join hands for the development of Kashmir

As you can see from the summary of my article, my sole focus in the article is on arguing that all Kashmiris regardless of our political beliefs should be working together for the development of our state. Never have I even mentioned anything about the military excesses or human rights violations. In fact I emphasized that cooperating in development projects will not mean that people have to forget about the past.

For the article, I received some excellent feedback, suggestions and encouragement. Without surprises I did receive some negative responses which I had tried to avoid because these sort of arguments do not benefit anyone. In particular the angry response by one Junaid Mattoo, who has written about this on his blog is very disappointing because his response is based on the sole premise that I, in some figment of his immature imagination, condoned the criminal acts committed by RR in Kunan Poshpora.

He goes on to say that he will cooperate in the development of Kashmir - which incidentally my article was primarily about to begin with. That just goes to prove that he wrote that article in bad faith and with nefarious intentions. If his tirade was just aimed at me, I could understand, but he goes on to ridicule my father which goes on to display his lack of character and indecency. He concludes by saying that Mr. Sagar and I are "needling" him in some way, which I do not even want to know what he means by. I will not waste my time anymore than these few paragraphs in debating someone who resorts to insulting, lying, distorting facts and taking words out of context to justify his arguments. Readers can be the judge themselves as my article as well as Mr. Junaid's response are available online on our respective blogs.

One brick at a time

It has been my attempt on this blog to write my feelings as events unfold. As a result, many of my posts are political whereby I offer my analysis of the current political happenings in Kashmir. Some other posts are non-political while others are outright silly. I do not attempt to be an all knowing person, but I do have a fair knowledge of the political atmosphere brewing in Kashmir. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I am involved in politics myself. 

Today I would like to further develop a couple of the ideas that I have been writing about in the last little while. My goal is to analyze in detail all the possible employment and developmental avenues for Kashmir, and this I seek to accomplish by presenting my case in a series of posts where I will try to develop each idea as comprehensively as I can. This post is going to deal with an issue that I consider is of utmost importance if we seek to utilize our limited resources wisely. It deals with remedying our over-burdened and inefficient government service by curtailing the operations of inefficient departments. 

I have mentioned in my earlier posts that we all are aware that most Kashmiris would rather be employed in the government services if they could get a chance. This seems to be the norm and I do not fault anyone for desiring a stable and sustainable form of income. In particular, the last two decades have seen this as the only source of income that was unaffected by the turmoil. Government servants are guaranteed to receive their paychecks regardless of whether they show up at office or not. Who would not desire such an easy source of income. I salute the new CM for getting down to business from day one, and sending a clear message that non-punctuality and absenteeism will not be tolerated in the government workers anymore. 

Although this will send a clear message to the government employees to show up for work and they will be in office as required, a closer look is needed to get to the root of this lack of interest in work. In my opinion, some departments such as the departments of handicrafts, floriculture, animal husbandry to name just a few are useless and an unnecessary drain on our limited resources. Would it not be more sensible to reallocate the focus areas of these departments that would be more in tune with what the more pressing issues facing our governments are. I would like to emphasize that I am not advocating the dismissal of any government employees but what I am suggesting is re-assigning them different tasks that would make their jobs more useful to Kashmir. 

For instance, even though we have had the department of floriculture and horticulture for many decades in the valley, yet, how come we are not even on the map of the world producers of cut-flowers? or why is it that our fruit growers are still utilizing ancient techniques in growing fruits when the same acreage is capable of producing hundred times more fruit than what they are at this time. Clearly, these departments have been unable to do adequate research in bringing technology from world leaders in these fields and educate our farmers in these new agricultural technology. For instance, New Zealand apple growers are capable of producing 400 times more apples per acre than our Kashmiri fruit gowers. The main reason for this variance is that the New Zealand farmers were fortunate enough to be educated by "agriculture extension officers" as they are known there, in modernizing their production techniques.

Government officials should have the initiative to be innovative and have the vision to see what would make Kashmir more progressive in areas that their departments are concerned with. Instead of waiting for the CM to spoon feed them and pull them by their fingers. It is easy to follow orders but if they really want to earn their wages and excel in their jobs, then they have to start thinking out of the box and start thinking of ways of bringing in new technology from overseas and adapting it to be more suitable to Kashmir. That was the whole reason why the departments of horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry were introduced to begin with. To modernize our agriculture. They have failed to deliver because I do not see Kashmir on the map of the world leaders in the production of frutis, or cut-flowers, or bulbs, or even sheep. Therefore it is time that we re-assign these departments other tasks that require critical attention at this time.

Some ideas where the several thousand employees of these department can be readjusted:

1. Anti Corruption Officers. (A short training of a few months to these employees on how to weed out and lay charges against corrupt officials)

2. Public Grievance Centers. (Set up one-room government grievance-centres in every mohalla, where anyone can come and register a complaint regarding everything from an exploded water pipe to complaints about harassment by security forces. The employees must receive rigorous training for a few months on customer service, and how to deal with irate public in the most professional manner. This will be sort of a one-stop outlet for the public to deal with the government. The employees will learn through training the most appropriate department and person to forward the complaint to. The person who registers the complaint receives a file number for their complaint and it would be nice to make our government efficient enough that the complainant is assured of some sort of an answer within a week or two. This will save the public from running around in the secretariat for days with a worn out file-folder wanting to meet with the minister to have their drain fixed)

3. Traffic Enforcement Officers (This is another area that we could use these employees. After receiving training for a few months, these employees could be reassigned the task of traffic law enforcement. Anything from speeding buses, overloaded buses and parking violations can be enforced by them)