Opinion Whither Kashmir?
Complicated,and working with multiple ideological considerations,Kashmirs politics has made genuine dialogue and socio-political progress almost impossible....
This refers to Pratap B. Mehtas Stones and silence (IE,July 15). Complicated,and working with multiple ideological considerations,Kashmirs politics has made genuine dialogue and socio-political progress almost impossible. It now appears that periodic violence,perpetual suspicion,demands for freedoms and status,and political interventions,have become routine. Now even the state of limbo is being taken as the only practical possibility even though it keeps eroding the political credibility of the ruling class.
The predictable political rhetoric may satisfy certain sections of the people but do we realise the backwardness social,economic,political which an ordinary Kashmiri is being pushed into? Do we understand that our political class,given its habit of passing the buck,has turned into a practical hell what was once known and loved as heaven on earth?
Ved Guliani Hisar
Wider angles
Najeeb Jungs The need for nuance (IE,July 14),while rightly forewarning of an increased influence of jihadi escalation in Kashmir,has missed the larger struggle. Stone-pelting Kashmiri youth were perhaps not bona fide aggrieved people,but as intelligence reports indicate and as reported by a section of the media they were perhaps acting at the behest of people from across the border. As Ira Lapidus in his excellent study of medieval society has shown,sometimes the mob becomes a substitute for civil society; the present turmoil in the Valley seems to confirm that. Secessionist and anti-India slogans raised and exhortations from certain quarters would further prove that the comparison between David and Goliath might be misleading. Hence the use of the term intifida looks misplaced.
Saradindu Mukherji
Stifling vox populi
The editorial The land of chup (IE,July 14) was apt and informative. The Supreme Court has rightly lifted the ban imposed by Maharashtra on James Laines book. Politicians lose no opportunity to cash in on the parochialism that has bedevilled the state. Banning a book is a blatant violation of the freedom of expression. Asking the for an apology from Maharashtras home minister,R.R. Patil,for the governments failure to defend Shivajis honour is unjustified in the wake of the SC ruling. Even the idea of enacting a law to prevent the defamation of iconic personalities can be seen as an attempt to gag the people.
R.K. Kapoor Chandigarh
Adrift in Mumbai
The editorial State of drift (IE,July 15) amply describes the worsening standards of politics in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena-MNS rivalry,which split Marathi votes,had immensely benefited the Congress. But now,matching the Senas vitriolic rhetoric is taking its toll on the Congress. To browbeat them,the Congress is playing into the hands of regional parties and acting on their agenda.
Ashok Goswami
Mumbai
Share
