145;People do not live by bread alone146;

Q: What do you have to say about the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits by your 8216;8216;boys8217;8217;? Do Kashmiri Pandits figure i...

Q: What do you have to say about the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits by your 8216;8216;boys8217;8217;? Do Kashmiri Pandits figure in your scheme of things?
Rakesh Sheshadri

We should, as a matter of principle, ignore wrongs and lapses in the larger interests of a brighter future.

Let the Zain-ul-Aabideens and Shree Bhats the former was a liberal Muslim king, the latter, a reputed Kashmiri Hindu leader put their heads together and address each other8217;s sensibilities with a view to finding an honourable, durable solution to the Kashmir problem.

Q: You ask for self-determination for the people of Kashmir. Does your idea of Kashmir cover the whole state? Also, why should non-Muslims trust you?
Gyan Swarup Gupta

YOU FIRE, WE PRINT8230;

We invite readers to put questions to Lakshmi Sehgal, the Left Front8217;s candidate for the post of President. We will publish them with Sehgal8217;s replies next week.
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The people8217;s inalienable right to self-determination applies, de facto, to the whole of J038;K in consonance with the UN Security Council resolutions as well as, more importantly, in consonance with the pledges given to us by the Indian leadership on Kashmiri soil.

Mistrust breeds mistrust, exactly like violence breeds violence. However, I refuse to represent the darker side of the picture of humanity.

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Q: You always asked for self-determination of Kashmir and your views are are always pro-Pakistani. India is a secular democratic society. Why, therefore, would you like to secede from a democracy and join an autocracy?
Sarat Kumar

The people8217;s will must, in all cases, prevail, despite contradictions. Therefore, why don8217;t we translate the concept of democracy into a reality, and ascertain the will of the people? That8217;s the only way we can get to see who is who and what is what.

Q: Kashmiri separatists have always maintained that Kashmir has never been given its due by Delhi. But now when Delhi wants to give Kashmir its due, why don8217;t you help in creating the right atmosphere?
Gurinder Singh

You talk in terms of what you call 8216;8216;its due8217;8217;. What is that 8212; a loaf of bread? Or a handful of coins in the pocket to jingle? People do not live by bread alone. In a given situation, people8217;s political aspirations assume primary significance; everything else comes next.

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Q: How can you be pro-Pakistani, after your brother was murdered by the Mujahideen? Now Syed Ali Shah Geelani, another pro-Pakistan leader, has been arrested. Does his arrest make any difference to the Hurriyat Conference?
Jagat K. Khimani

The guilt may rest where it should. Believe it or not, the sentiment is rooted deep in the depths of souls here.

As for Geelani8217;s arrest, it should never have happened, particularly at a time when efforts are afoot at the global level to reduce tension between India and Pakistan as well as to facilitate a dialogue on Kashmir.

Who killed Mr Lone? Let the UN secretary general constitute an impartial commission of enquiry to investigate not only his assassination but the mass killings of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims in Kashmir, the attacks on the Kashmir assembly and Indian Parliament to unmask the ugly people behind these acts of terror.

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Q: How can you promote armed struggle against innocent women and children?
Syed Miftahur Rahman

We condemn in as many words as are at our command the killing of innocent men, women and children, irrespective of caste, creed or colour. But then, as is customary, condemnation by words alone will get us nowhere.

We will have to find out who does it, what their motivation is. But militancy or no militancy, the people8217;s just and legitimate demands will have to be met.

Militancy happened in Kashmir as a consequence of the denial of basic rights and the violence perpetrated on the people. Violence breeds violence.