The Valley of Death

Once again, "The Massacre" has happened. This time its the shepherds and some village defence committe members of Doda and Udhampur. Amidst all the cacophony surrounding how "Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism", "How India is a soft state", "How Hindus in India are taken for granted"; Praveen Swami provides some interesting food for thought. Read this extract from The Hindu, Delhi edition of May 2nd 2006.

"Despite the high media impact of communal killings of Hindus, internal Union Home Ministry data exclusively obtained by The Hindu makes it clear that Muslims are the principal victims of the jihad Islamist groups are fighting in their name. Last year, for example, just 54 of the 489 civilians killed by terrorists were Hindu. In most years since 1989, less than 15% of overall civilian fatalities have been Hindu. Only in 1990 did that figure cross 20%."

This view is echoed in the editorial of The Hindu, Delhi edition May 3rd 2006 which says "...Terrorism in J&K is too often projected as a war by islamists against Hindus, a depiction amplified by media reports that, for the most part, ignore the large scale killing of Muslims who were either perceived as enemies by the armies of the jihad, or simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time......"

Interesting observations in the sense that the average Indian is bombarded with images of displaced Kashmiri pandits, Kashmiri women in burkhas and of course the jihadis (as an aside on the lighter side, JIHAD is a code word used by my team while playing AOE matches to indicate that a wave of attacks by petards is on the way!!!!) Also, the Hindu right has projected the condition of Hindus to be miserable and weak and who can only be saved by the forces of the right. There is also a lot of rhetoric regarding how Hindus should reproduce more to save the country from being overrun by Muslims. Infact it is surprising that even educated, supposedly modern, hi-fi yuppies also harbour deep religious hatred beneath layers of deceptive appearences necessitated by factors like work, teams, projects, deadlines etc. Dialogues like "What Modi did was right. 'They' had to be taught a lesson!!" are not only in bad taste, they are outright cases for punishment for showing sympathy to a terrorist group.

A similar strategy is being adopted by Kannada fanatics who take stuff to such extremes like "Kannada is getting extinct in Bangalore!! Ayyo!! Now that Annavru is gone, who will champion the cause of Kannada?". More on this in some other blog maybe!!! I am sick and tired of arguing with the Kandu-fanatics!!!!

OK, coming back to Kashmir, a few points that warrant deep and serious thought and discussion:

1. Was the migration of the Pundits just a panic reaction or, is it the reason that the percentage of Hindu killings in Kashmir has been consistently round the 20% mark?

2. Why is the home ministry keeping silent regarding the religion wise percentage of civilian casualties? I can understand if it is the NDA governmet. BUt the UPA doing this? Is this further proof of the shady communalism practised by the Congress?

3. There was an article in The Hindu, Delhi edition of April 28th 2006 called "Caught in a trap of its own making" by Praveen Swami, which focussed on the jihadic sympathies that are still inherent in the NC and PDP; and how these sympathies come out as covert support for the militants during election time. Since speeches by Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah are documented, why aren't they arrested? Infact it is such tendencies that create the image among other Indians that the Kashmiris are playing a double game between India and Pakistan. And as far as I know, Kashmiris are not anyone's favourite people be it in India or Pakistan.

Concluding remarks:

1. I have a suggestion for our Hindutva brigade. "Why don't you guys ban Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Sign of Four'?" "Why?", you ask? Simple, it contains this paragraph:

'The thing stands thus, Sahib, and I tell it to you because I know that an oath is binding upon a Feringhee, and that we may trust you. Had you been a lying Hindu, though you had sworn by all the gods in their false temples, your blood would have been upon the knife, and your body in the water. But the Sikh knows the Englishman, and the Englishman knows the Sikh.'

2. For those of you who are interested in a holistic view of Hinduism, read Gavin Flood's "An introduction to Hinduism".