08-23-2008, 09:13 AM
Harish Khare, political editor of Hindu opposes giving freedom to Kashmir
- big surprise
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/23/stories/...541100.htm
Time for democratic fundamentalism in J&K
Harish Khare
Under assault here is not just the territorial integrity of India but also the idea of India, from the separatists as well as from the Hindutva brigade.
PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD
Protests in Srinagar.Time for the Centre to reiterate a few fundamental axioms.
A tiny section of the effete elite in New Delhi suddenly seems to have lost its nerve. So mightily impressed are these Bloomsbury-fied âintellectualsâ with the Hurriyatâs capacity to work up mobs and instigate violence in the Kashmir Valley that they have begun to wonder aloud whether the time had come for India to give in to the azadi-chanters. After 61 years of independence, there is no need for any confusion or doubt. All that is ne eded is to reiterate a few fundamental axioms.
The territorial integrity of India is non-negotiable in Kashmir, as in any other part of the Union. Bad politics, inept administration, and the occasional security heavy-handedness do not constitute sufficient ground for secession in Kashmir or in any other part of India. These infirmities, indeed, are not confined to the âperiphery,â and can be easily discerned in large sections of the so-called âmainland.â But these lapses do not give anyone a licence to walk away from Mother India. This democracy provides sufficient institutional creativity to address grievances and alienation.
Let us also be clear about the nature of the âKashmir problem.â A section, possibly about a quarter, of the Kashmiris was always in thrall of the Muslim League ideology and wanted merger with Pakistan. It is this section that has remained un-reconciled to the idea of secular India. It is this section of the Kashmiris that the Hurriyat factions represent; all the Hurriyat leaders also know that their constituency is a limited one and that they do not speak for the majority of the Kashmiris. Instead, the Hurriyat and other separatist leaders have cleverly used the mosques and the militants to crank up dissent and dissatisfaction.
- big surprise
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/23/stories/...541100.htm
Time for democratic fundamentalism in J&K
Harish Khare
Under assault here is not just the territorial integrity of India but also the idea of India, from the separatists as well as from the Hindutva brigade.
PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD
Protests in Srinagar.Time for the Centre to reiterate a few fundamental axioms.
A tiny section of the effete elite in New Delhi suddenly seems to have lost its nerve. So mightily impressed are these Bloomsbury-fied âintellectualsâ with the Hurriyatâs capacity to work up mobs and instigate violence in the Kashmir Valley that they have begun to wonder aloud whether the time had come for India to give in to the azadi-chanters. After 61 years of independence, there is no need for any confusion or doubt. All that is ne eded is to reiterate a few fundamental axioms.
The territorial integrity of India is non-negotiable in Kashmir, as in any other part of the Union. Bad politics, inept administration, and the occasional security heavy-handedness do not constitute sufficient ground for secession in Kashmir or in any other part of India. These infirmities, indeed, are not confined to the âperiphery,â and can be easily discerned in large sections of the so-called âmainland.â But these lapses do not give anyone a licence to walk away from Mother India. This democracy provides sufficient institutional creativity to address grievances and alienation.
Let us also be clear about the nature of the âKashmir problem.â A section, possibly about a quarter, of the Kashmiris was always in thrall of the Muslim League ideology and wanted merger with Pakistan. It is this section that has remained un-reconciled to the idea of secular India. It is this section of the Kashmiris that the Hurriyat factions represent; all the Hurriyat leaders also know that their constituency is a limited one and that they do not speak for the majority of the Kashmiris. Instead, the Hurriyat and other separatist leaders have cleverly used the mosques and the militants to crank up dissent and dissatisfaction.