Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump

September 29, 2010

By LISA W. FODERARO

Correction Appended

It started with a Twitter message on Sept. 19: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”

That night, the authorities say, the Rutgers University student who sent the message used a camera in his dormitory room to stream the roommate’s intimate encounter live on the Internet.

And three days later, the roommate who had been surreptitiously broadcast — Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman and an accomplished violinist — jumped from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River in an apparent suicide.

The Sept. 22 death, details of which the authorities disclosed on Wednesday, was the latest by a young American that followed the online posting of hurtful material. The news came on the same day that Rutgers kicked off a two-year, campuswide project to teach the importance of civility, with special attention to the use and abuse of new technology.

Those who knew Mr. Clementi — on the Rutgers campus in Piscataway, N.J., at his North Jersey high school and in a community orchestra — were anguished by the circumstances surrounding his death, describing him as an intensely devoted musician who was sweet and shy.

“It’s really awful, especially in New York and in the 21st century,” said Arkady Leytush, artistic director of the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, where Mr. Clementi played since his freshman year in high school. “It’s so painful. He was very friendly and had very good potential.”

The Middlesex County prosecutor’s office said Mr. Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, N.J., and another classmate, Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton Junction, N.J., had each been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for using “the camera to view and transmit a live image” of Mr. Clementi. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of five years.

Mr. Ravi was charged with two additional counts of invasion of privacy for trying a similar live feed on the Internet on Sept. 21, the day before the suicide. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, James O’Neill, said the investigation was continuing, but he declined to “speculate on additional charges.”

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said Wednesday that he considered the death a hate crime. “We are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others’ lives as a sport,” he said in a statement.

At the end of the inaugural event for the university’s “Project Civility” campaign on Wednesday, nearly 100 demonstrators gathered outside the student center, where the president spoke. They chanted, “Civility without safety — over our queer bodies!”

It is unclear what Mr. Clementi’s sexual orientation was; classmates say he mostly kept to himself. Danielle Birnbohm, a freshman who lived across the hall from him in Davidson Hall, said that when a counselor asked how many students had known Mr. Clementi, only 3 students out of 50 raised their hands.

But Mr. Clementi displayed a favorite quotation on his Facebook page, from the song “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”: “What do you get when you kiss a guy? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia.”

And his roommate’s Twitter message makes plain that Mr. Ravi believed that Mr. Clementi was gay.

A later message from Mr. Ravi appeared to make reference to the second attempt to broadcast Mr. Clementi. “Anyone with iChat,” he wrote on Sept. 21, “I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes, it’s happening again.”

Ms. Birnbohm said Mr. Ravi had said the initial broadcast was an accident — that he viewed the encounter after dialing his own computer from another room in the dorm. It was not immediately known how or when Mr. Clementi learned what his roommate had done. But Ms. Birnbohm said the episode quickly became the subject of gossip in the dormitory.

Mr. Clementi’s family issued a statement on Wednesday confirming the suicide and pledging cooperation with the criminal investigation. “Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician,” the statement read. “The family is heartbroken beyond words.”

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that Mr. Clementi posted a note on his Facebook page the day of his death: “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” Friends and strangers have turned the page into a memorial.

Witnesses told the police they saw a man jump off the bridge just before 9 p.m. on Sept. 22, said Paul J. Browne, the New York Police Department’s chief spokesman. Officers discovered a wallet there with Mr. Clementi’s identification, Mr. Browne said.

The police said Wednesday night that they had found the body of a young man in the Hudson north of the bridge and were trying to identify it.

Officials at Ridgewood High School, where Mr. Clementi graduated in June, last week alerted parents of current students that his family had reported him missing and encouraged students to take advantage of counseling at the school.

The timing of the news was almost uncanny, coinciding with the start of “Project Civility” at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey. Long in the planning, the campaign will involve panel discussions, lectures, workshops and other events to raise awareness about the importance of respect, compassion and courtesy in everyday interactions.

Events scheduled for this fall include a workshop for students and administrators on residential life on campus and a panel discussion titled “Uncivil Gadgets? Changing Technologies and Civil Behavior.”

Rutgers officials would not say whether the two suspects had been suspended. But in a statement late Wednesday, the university’s president, Richard L. McCormick, said, “If the charges are true, these actions gravely violate the university’s standards of decency and humanity.” At the kickoff event for the civility campaign, Mr. McCormick made an oblique reference to the case, saying, “It is more clear than ever that we need strongly to reassert our call for civility and responsibility for each other.”

Mr. Ravi was freed on $25,000 bail, and Ms. Wei was released on her own recognizance. The lawyer for Mr. Ravi, Steven D. Altman, declined to comment on the accusations. A phone message left at the offices of Ms. Wei’s lawyer was not returned.

Some students on the Busch campus in Piscataway seemed dazed by the turn of events, remembering their last glimpse of Mr. Clementi. Thomas Jung, 19, shared a music stand with Mr. Clementi in the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra.

On Wednesday afternoon, hours before Mr. Clementi’s death, the two rehearsed works by Berlioz and Beethoven. “He loved music,” Mr. Jung said. “He was very dedicated. I couldn’t tell if anything was wrong.”

Reporting was contributed by Al Baker, Barbara Gray, Nate Schweber and Tim Stelloh.

China's Discreet Hold on Pakistan's Northern Borderlands

By SELIG S. HARRISON

Published: August 26, 2010

While the world focuses on the flood-ravaged Indus River valley, a quiet geopolitical crisis is unfolding in the Himalayan borderlands of northern Pakistan, where Islamabad is handing over de facto control of the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region in the northwest corner of disputed Kashmir to China.

The entire Pakistan-occupied western portion of Kashmir stretching from Gilgit in the north to Azad (Free) Kashmir in the south is closed to the world, in contrast to the media access that India permits in the eastern part, where it is combating a Pakistan-backed insurgency. But reports from a variety of foreign intelligence sources, Pakistani journalists and Pakistani human rights workers reveal two important new developments in Gilgit-Baltistan: a simmering rebellion against Pakistani rule and the influx of an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army.

China wants a grip on the region to assure unfettered road and rail access to the Gulf through Pakistan. It takes 16 to 25 days for Chinese oil tankers to reach the Gulf. When high-speed rail and road links through Gilgit and Baltistan are completed, China will be able to transport cargo from Eastern China to the new Chinese-built Pakistani naval bases at Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara, just east of the Gulf, within 48 hours.

Many of the P.L.A. soldiers entering Gilgit-Baltistan are expected to work on the railroad. Some are extending the Karakoram Highway, built to link China’s Sinkiang Province with Pakistan. Others are working on dams, expressways and other projects.

Mystery surrounds the construction of 22 tunnels in secret locations where Pakistanis are barred. Tunnels would be necessary for a projected gas pipeline from Iran to China that would cross the Himalayas through Gilgit. But they could also be used for missile storage sites.

Until recently, the P.L.A. construction crews lived in temporary encampments and went home after completing their assignments. Now they are building big residential enclaves clearly designed for a long-term presence.

What is happening in the region matters to Washington for two reasons. Coupled with its support for the Taliban, Islamabad’s collusion in facilitating China’s access to the Gulf makes clear that Pakistan is not a U.S. “ally.” Equally important, the nascent revolt in the Gilgit-Baltistan region is a reminder that Kashmiri demands for autonomy on both sides of the cease-fire line would have to be addressed in a settlement.

Media attention has exposed the repression of the insurgency in the Indian-ruled Kashmir Valley. But if reporters could get into the Gilgit-Baltistan region and Azad Kashmir, they would find widespread, brutally-suppressed local movements for democratic rights and regional autonomy.

When the British partitioned South Asia in 1947, the maharajah who ruled Kashmir, including Gilgit and Baltistan, acceded to India. This set off intermittent conflict that ended with Indian control of the Kashmir Valley, the establishment of Pakistan-sponsored Free Kashmir in western Kashmir, and Pakistan’s occupation of Gilgit and Baltistan, where Sunni jihadi groups allied with the Pakistan Army have systematically terrorized the local Shiite Muslims.

Gilgit and Baltistan are in effect under military rule. Democratic activists there want a legislature and other institutions without restrictions like the ones imposed on Free Kashmir, where the elected legislature controls only 4 out of 56 subjects covered in the state constitution. The rest are under the jurisdiction of a “Kashmir Council” appointed by the president of Pakistan.

India gives more power to the state government in Srinagar; elections there are widely regarded as fair, and open discussion of demands for autonomy is permitted. But the Pakistan-abetted insurgency in the Kashmir Valley has added to tensions between Indian occupation forces and an assertive population seeking greater of local autonomy.

The United States is uniquely situated to play a moderating role in Kashmir, given its growing economic and military ties with India and Pakistan’s aid dependence on Washington. Such a role should be limited to quiet diplomacy. Washington should press New Delhi to resume autonomy negotiations with Kashmiri separatists. Success would put pressure on Islamabad for comparable concessions in Free Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. In Pakistan, Washington should focus on getting Islamabad to stop aiding the insurgency in the Kashmir Valley and to give New Delhi a formal commitment that it will not annex Gilgit and Baltistan.

Precisely because the Gilgit-Baltistan region is so important to China, the United States, India and Pakistan should work together to make sure that it is not overwhelmed, like Tibet, by the Chinese behemoth.

Selig S. Harrison is director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy and a former South Asia bureau chief of The Washington Post.

The center of Asia's divide

By BRAHMA CHELLANEY

NEW DELHI — Japan may have created the impression of having buckled under China's pressure by releasing the Chinese fishing trawler captain. But the Japanese action helps move the spotlight back to China, whose rapid accumulation of power has emboldened it to aggressively assert territorial and maritime claims against its neighbors, from Japan to India.

Having earlier preached the gospel of its "peaceful rise," China is no longer shy about showcasing its military capabilities and asserting itself on multiple fronts. While the Chinese leadership may gloat after forcing Tokyo to climb down and release the captain, the episode — far from shifting the Asian balance of power in Beijing's favor — has only shown that China is at the center of Asia's political divides.

China's new stridency in its territorial and maritime disputes with its neighbors has helped highlight Asia's central challenge to come to terms with existing boundaries by getting rid of the baggage of history that weighs down a number of interstate relationships. Even as Asia is becoming more interdependent economically, it is becoming more divided politically.

While the bloody wars in the first half of the 20th century have made war unthinkable today in Europe, wars in Asia during the second half of the 20th century did not resolve matters and have only accentuated bitter rivalries. A number of interstate wars have been fought in Asia since 1950, the year both the Korean War and the annexation of Tibet started. Those wars, far from settling or ending disputes, have only kept disputes lingering.

China, significantly, has been involved in the largest number of military conflicts. A recent Pentagon report has cited examples of how China carried out military preemption in 1950, 1962, 1969 and 1979 in the name of strategic defense. The report states: "The history of modern Chinese warfare provides numerous case studies in which China's leaders have claimed military preemption as a strategically defensive act.

For example, China refers to its intervention in the Korean War (1950-1953) as the "War to Resist the United States and Aid Korea." Similarly, authoritative texts refer to border conflicts against India (1962), the Soviet Union (1969) and Vietnam (1979) as "self-defense counterattacks." The seizure of Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974 by Chinese forces was another example of offense as defense.

All these cases of preemption occurred when China was weak, poor and internally torn. So today, China's growing power naturally raises legitimate concerns. A stronger, more prosperous China is already beginning to pursue a more muscular foreign policy vis-a-vis its neighbors, as underscored by several developments this year alone — from its inclusion of the South China Sea in its "core" national interests, an action that makes its claims to the disputed Spratly Islands nonnegotiable, to its reference to the Yellow Sea as a sort of exclusive Chinese military-operations zone where the U.S. and South Korea should discontinue holding joint naval exercises.

China also has become more insistent in pressing its territorial claims to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, with Chinese warships making more frequent forays into Japanese waters.

As if to signal that it is acquiring the military power to enforce its claims, China has since April conducted large-scale naval exercises, first near Japan's Ryukyu Islands chain — with a Chinese helicopter buzzing a Japanese destroyer — then in the East China Sea and, most recently, in the Yellow Sea.

In Tibet, the official PLA (People's Liberation Army) Daily has reported several new significant military developments in recent months, including the first-ever major parachute exercise to demonstrate a capability to rapidly insert troops on the world's highest plateau and an exercise involving "third generation" fighter-jets carrying live ammunition.

In addition, the railroad to Tibet, the world's highest elevated railway, has now started being used to supply "combat readiness materials for the air force" there. These military developments have to be seen in the context of China's resurrection since 2006 of its long-dormant claim to India's northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state and its recent attempts to question Indian sovereignty over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, one-fifth of which it occupies.

Against that background, China's increasingly assertive territorial and maritime claims threaten Asian peace and stability. In fact, the largest real estate China covets is not in the South or East China Seas but in India: Arunachal Pradesh is almost three times larger than Taiwan. Respect for boundaries is a prerequisite to peace and stability on any continent. Europe has built its peace on that principle, with a number of European states learning to live with boundaries they do not like.

Efforts to redraw territorial and maritime frontiers are an invitation to endemic conflicts in Asia. Through its overt refusal to accept the territorial status quo, Beijing only highlights the futility of political negotiations.

After all, a major redrawing of frontiers has never happened at the negotiating table in world history. Such redrawing can only be achieved on the battlefield, as Beijing has done in the past.

Today, whether it is Arunachal Pradesh or Taiwan or the Senkaku Islands, or even the Spratlys, China is dangling the threat to use force to assert its claims. In doing so, China has helped reinforce the specter of a China threat. By picking territorial fights with its neighbors, China also is threatening Asia's continued economic renaissance. More significantly, China is showing that it is not a credible candidate to lead Asia.

It is important for other Asian states and the rest of the international community to convey a clear message to Beijing: After six long decades, China's redrawing of frontiers must now come to an end.

Brahma Chellaney is the author, most recently, of "Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India and Japan" (HarperCollins, 2010).

The Japan Times: Friday, Oct. 1, 2010

Kindlerotica

The strange but inevitable rise of e-reader pornography.

By James Ledbetter

As I write this, the most downloaded item for Amazon's Kindle is a novel by Jenna Bayley-Burke called Compromising Positions. Here is part of the plot description: "David Strong knows how to do a lot of things—run an international fitness company, finesse stock portfolios and stay out of emotional entanglements. That is, until he gets tangled up with Sophie Delfino and her Sensational Sex workout. He's supposed to help her demonstrate Kama Sutra positions for her couples-yoga class. … And his co-instructor unexpectedly tests his control to the limit." If that nudge and wink aren't clear enough, this is attached: "Warning: This is one exercise program you won't need to consult your doctor before beginning—unless he's hot and available for house calls. The Kama Sutra isn't for the prudish or faint of heart, and neither is this story

You won't find Compromising Positions anywhere on the New York Times or USA Today best-seller list. So how did it become the No. 1 item on the Kindle, slightly outpacing Jonathan Franzen's Freedom? Price. To buy the paperback on Amazon costs $10.20, plus shipping and handling. The Kindle version? $0.00, which includes instant delivery. Christina Brashear, publisher of Samhain Books, explains that she usually makes one title in a series available as a freebie for two weeks, betting that some readers will pay for future titles. Based on the performance of August freebie Venus in Blue Jeans, it's reasonable to assume that some 35,000 people will downloadCompromising Positions during its freebie run. While few would dare try Samhain's giveaway tactic with a physical book, the tactic seems to be working digitally.

Many—including the publishing industry—would not labelCompromising Positions pornography, and with good reason. For decades, romance and women's fiction novels have featured fairly explicit sexual passages, which readers apparently feel comfortable with as long as they are surrounded by what one Amazon commenter labeled "a tastefully written story of deep love and emotional commitment." And so the stellar performance of this Kindle novel represents little more than the savvy technological marketing of a longstanding genre.

But as you scroll down the list of Kindle offerings, you can't help but notice all of the steamy writing that seems to be targeted at men—an emotionally uncommitted genre which, if not exactly new, is associated with book publishing less commonly than withPenthouse Forum. Take, for example, a novel called Office Slave, in which an attractive female CFO is found to be embezzling from her manufacturing company. Rather than go to prison, she agrees to her boss's demand to become the company's sex slave. She is forced to wear slutty (or no) clothing at work; he films her in intimate acts; he instructs male coworkers to beat her physically for perceived transgressions; and she has sex with everyone imaginable, including factory workers (to reward productivity gains), prospective customers (to secure new contracts), a coworker (as a retirement gift), teenage boys (who deliver lunch to the office), etc. And—whaddya know?—no matter how physically abused and mentally degraded she is, she finds she actually enjoys it.

Presumably, some small percentage of women might be attracted to this material. But much can be adduced from reader comments, such as, "I don't see how any woman could enjoy this ... just seems like every man's fantasy." There's no point in dancing around it: Amazon is distributing men's erotic fiction, and its bargain-basement Kindle pricing—in many cases, this material, too, is given away for free—means that some of it shows up on "best-seller" lists.

Is it porn? Well—would you tell your mother you were reading it? Here's another test: There are tens of thousands of sex scenes in novels which you could imagine being photographed or filmed in ways that would not necessarily be pornographic. But any faithful filming of, say, the Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom—and, I would argue,Office Slave—is going to include moments of pure porn. And if that doesn't meet your definition, there are Kindle books for five bucks or less dealing with incest, bondage, rape, and bestiality. Sooner or later, everyone is going to hit a Potter Stewart threshold.

Like the Kindle itself, the marriage of porn and e-reader is relatively new; much of this digital erotica has been added to the Kindle library in the last 18 months or so. From a technology standpoint, anyone who's seen Boogie Nights or Middle Men could predict this development. Every time a major new content platform—print, film, cable, VHS, DVD, the Internet, mobile phones—has experienced massive growth, it has either been driven by a porn boom or at least brought the porn industry along for the ride. (The biggest exception is probably radio.)

But there are other aspects of this phenomenon worth chewing on. Verbal (as opposed to visual) porn for men is probably a niche taste. Yet the growing ubiquity of e-readers could unleash latent demand for nonvisual pornography. The Web long ago eliminated the embarrassment factor of having to purchase erotica at a store or newsstand; stored in digital form on an e-reader, it needn't be seen by partners, families, or anyone at all.

Another question: How comfortable is Amazon with being identified with this material? There are thousands of pornography sites on the Web (paid and free), and while you can't access them without some kind of device and software, you're not pointed toward them in any meaningful way. The Kindle, however, pushes Amazon over the line from mere enabler of erotica to promoter and producer. Many of these e-titles are specifically being published by Amazon; others are sold by "Amazon Digital Services," meaning that Amazon—based on its usual publishing arrangement—is getting a considerable cut of the sales.

For those who've criticized Apple's prudish filters, Amazon's open-mindedness may be something to celebrate (although Amazon, too, has come under attack for the way that it categorizes gay- and lesbian-themed books). And, certainly, as a loss-leader strategy, giving away racy stories might be an effective way to sell more Kindles. It's hard to believe, though, that Amazon can wander too far down the path of peddling cheap-to-free porn without encountering pushback from Christian and conservative groups. When and if those protests come, Amazon will have to make a decision: Is it valuable to the company to goose interest in the Kindle with erotica giveaways, or will the presence of e-books like Compromising Positions at the top of Amazon's charts sully the e-reader's reputation?

Bugged Naked

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Of ‘Azaadi’, ‘Kashmiri’ and other false words

There has been a slew of pro-Azaadi, anti-India articles in the Indian mainstream press recently. One fine specimen of mediahood proudly recounted how he became a stone-thrower for a day, pointing out quite pointedly that the only thing that saved him was the Hindustan Times staff card, with the emphasis being on the sub-string Hindu. Of all these marvelous bits of journalism, with their objectivity and integrity misaals in their own right, my favorite piece is by one M F Husain, who tells us how he left India for its lack of freedom. Yes, and presumably found it in Qatar, an Islamic theocracy where freedom of all religions other than Islam is severely restricted and where apostasy (leaving Islam) is technically punishable by death.

To castigate India for being “not free” while being a voluntary citizen of Qatar is the height of hypocrisy.

Anyhow, this article is not about M F Husain. Nor is it about the way forward in Kashmir nor whether trying to bribe the local population with money will work. Nor about the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which I believe needs to be repealed, for the armed forces have to be made accountable in civilian contexts like everyone else. Nor indeed about the recent violence per se.

It is about the Kashmiri ‘fighting for independence against the wicked Indian state’ thing that we see repeated ad nauseum not just from Pakistan but also in the Indian mainstream media.

My first beef is with the word ‘independence’. Historically independence struggles have been fought against foreign powers, those who have taken control over a piece of territory for the purpose of economic exploitation. It has also been fought between peoples of the same nation, like the Bangladesh independence struggle where a section of the population that has attained power (Punjabi Muslims) treats another ethnic or linguistic community (in this case Bangali Muslims) as second class citizens, systematically annihilating and depriving them of their most basic rights.

In the case of India’s Jammu & Kashmir state, none of this is true. India does not economically exploit Kashmir. On the contrary it spends a massive amount on the state trying to buy the loyalty of the population. Even the New York Times, which last time I looked wasn’t a right wing newspaper, says: “The dirty little secret of Srinagar, the heart of the movement to secede from India, is that many of its residents live quite well on the Indian government’s money.”

At the very least, no one can accuse the Indian government of taking anything out of the state. It is, of course, true that a lot of the development money lands up in wrong hands (that happens everywhere in India) but there are far more deprived areas of India that have no ‘freedom struggles’. As to the rights of Kashmiri people, they have privileges over property ownership that very few Indian citizens outside Kashmir have, making them super-citizens rather than inferior ones.

So none of the traditional characteristics of freedom struggles hold here. However, it is true that Kashmiris are fighting. But for independence. They are fighting to establish a theocratic Islamic shariyat state, aligned with or as an intrinsic part of Pakistan, where “independence” is defined somewhat as it is defined in Qatar, with subjugated status for minorities, and where the establishment of liberty, equality and fraternity—the ideals of any freedom struggle—is farthest from the minds of the stone-throwers and those that support them.

Sure, one can say “So what? If they want to establish an Islamic state, that’s their decision. What right does the Indian government have to interfere?” This brings us to my second bone of contention—the word “Kashmiri”. Like “independence” this too, in this context, is a false word. A better more honest descriptor would be “Kashmiri Sunni Muslims”. There was a time when Kashmiris meant both Hindus and Muslims, but then the Kashmiri Hindus were killed and driven out of the state by ‘Kashmiris’. Since these Hindus (as well as people in Jammu and Ladakh) are not part of the ‘freedom struggle’ it is not fair to use the word Kashmiri to refer to the agitators, who, since they use Islam as their reason for wanting independence and identify themselves solely by their religious orientation, should also not object to being called what they actually are—Kashmiri Sunni Muslims.

The question should now be framed as: “So what is wrong in letting Kashmiri Sunni Muslims, after they have driven out the large section of the minorities, from establishing an “Islam is the answer”, “independent”, non-democratic state? Their free will—they shall do as they like.”

If tomorrow the majority in Jat-land start an armed struggle to establish an autonomous Khap-istan where castist lynchings, dowry and child marriage are legal, and where inter-caste marriage implies death and retributive rape , would you call that an “independence” struggle and say that India should just let them have their way and not have the army fight them? If the day after tomorrow, if Gujarat decides that it wants to throw out its Muslim minorities and establish a Hindu theocratic Dhokla-land will the same Indians who post “Stop illegal military occupation of Kashmir by terrorist-state India” on Facebook also support the rights of Gujarati Hindus to choose how they wish to be governed because that’s what the ‘Gujarati’ majority wants?

I think I know the answer.

So please sirs and madams, do protest against the Indian state and the Indian Army and sign petitions and protest outside the United Nations while drinking Starbucks and discussing EB2 Green Card priority dates. Do whatever you want to do but please, for the sake of truth of labelling, please drop the “independence struggle” from the description, and qualify the word “Kashmiri” with what should come after it.

Of course, if you do so, then the romance and the liberal “feel good” of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with an independence movement will be gone. Hurling stones at the Indian Army would be seen not as an act of supreme passion and justified frustration but as an act of war against the Indian state, something I believe which there are laws against.

Which is why you won’t do it.

The choice Kashmiris must make

A current view on Jammu & Kashmir — rational and logical.

By Brigadier Ajit Nair (Retired)

The Nation has been keenly watching the ongoing hiatus in the Kashmir Valley. Those who understand the political stakes involved and the vested interests at play, trying to jockey themselves into favourable positions once sanity prevails –are sickened at the unnecessary violence and the loss of life. The vast majority – who don’t understand – fall into two camps. One thinks that Kashmiris are being brutally repressed and the other feels that they are being pampered and wonders what the fuss is all about. Both, of course are far from the truth.

I’d like to put down a fresh perspective on the issue, conceived from studying J & K for decades and my experience of having served there for five separate tenures – over eight years in all.

A word about myself. I’m a recently retired Army officer from the South. I’m completely apolitical and though a Hindu, have no love lost for fundamentalists – either Hindu or Muslim. I have no hatred for Kashmiris nor any prejudices against them. I’m taking a completely impartial view, though I sometimes may sound somewhat cold or emotionless – which the truth often is. We’re not going to solve the Kashmir issue through emotion – only a rational and logical solution will work.

First and foremost, we need to make it absolutely clear to the Kashmiri youth that Independence for J & K IS NOT AN OPTION – Autonomy is. Inexplicably, there seems to be hesitation on the part of the Govt or other players involved in saying this unequivocally. Both India and Pakistan are Federal States with a diverse population. Independence for one State would lead to similar demands from many others, as has happened before and is still happening. Independence for J & K would negate our diversity and raison de etre and would be an unmitigated disaster for both Countries. This must be said often and repeated at every forum, because this is the absolute truth and though the separatists may not like it, even they know it is the reality. Otherwise, the misguided youth of Kashmir seem to think that even though Independence is not an immediately viable option – at least there is a glimmer of hope, something to fight for. There frankly isn’t a hope in hell that India or Pakistan will permit this to ever happen. There is just no use fighting with this Aim in mind and if the aim is unattainable, then the fight is futile.

If hypothetically, a Plebiscite or better still, an opinion poll is held, chances are that a vote for India will prevail. All minority communities (Hindus, Buddhists, Gujjars and Bakherwals, Shia Muslims and Sikhs) will vote against Pakistan and against an Independence with a majority Sunni Muslim population. Even rational Muslims will see the fragility of the new State surrounded by three large nuclear neighbours. Domination or exploitation by any one of them is a certainty. Only within a democratic India is the safety and prosperity of J & K assured.

The current violence in the Valley is inexplicable. In recent years, we have seen the conduct of two successful elections, success against terrorists, diminished support for secessionists and revival in tourism. Then what prompted the youth to suddenly become ‘stone pelters’ ? “Spontaneous”, or “by people not leaders” are unconvincing. Such large-scale and sustained agitations need organisation and leadership. In the absence of any provocation by the State, one can only agree with the hypothesis of the Govt that it is externally motivated and possibly controlled. Aided and abetted by the ‘separatists’. The killings (of over 100 Kashmiris) in the last three months or so cannot be the reason, as claimed. That was a fallout of the demonstrations and unprovoked violence against the State and not vice versa. At best, chicken and egg. Any grievance that the youth had could have amicably been discussed and resolved with their own Kashmiri Muslim Chief Minister, recently elected by them in a 61% turnout election.

Apologists keep talking about “bullets against stones”. For heaven’s sake, do they expect the Police and Para-military to pick up the pelters stones and throw it back at them? Certainly not. Violence will beget violence and the Police will use the weapons at their disposal and upgrade their response as the violence continues. And that’s true of any Democracy in the world. India is, by all definitions, a “soft” State (poor intelligence, poorly armed and equipped Police, reactive and slow responses due to chronic indecisiveness, no political consensus even for national issues and constant back-pedaling in the face of political opposition and bickering). But the State response, while not trying to be deliberately repressive, can certainly be ham-handed and ill-thought out – and there will be collateral damage. Could this prolonged violent agitation have happened in any Western Democracy ? Would it have been permitted in any illiberal Muslim State – like Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia or Libya ? Certainly not. Or try it in Theocratic Nations like Saudi Arabia or Iran ! Or even in Communist China. It would have been crushed. Even in any other State in India, it would have received a much sterner response. Only J & K could have got away with it.

Kashmiris must understand that there is no genuine support whatsoever for Azadi from any quarters. The Lashkar-e-toiba and other Pakistani terrorist groups have their own pan-Islamic agenda and the ISI has its own – any help they may have rendered over the last two decades was incidental and probably retrograde for the Kashmiri cause. World powers (read US) are fed-up of Islamic terrorism and the line between terrorism and “freedom fighters” has blurred considerably. No support, no mediation there. The States of Pakistan and China may help – not through any love of Kashmir, but merely to keep India embroiled and “weak”. But they have their own Islamic worries and vulnerabilities too. Waziristan and Xinzhuang respectively. Can’t get too involved. If I was a separatist or an informed youth of Kashmir, I’d see the writing on the wall. No Independence. Cut my losses and see how I can lead a better life.

All talk shows have shown that the Kashmiris leadership focuses on the over 100 deaths in 100 odd days. That, I’m afraid is neither here nor there. Admittedly, deaths of innocent young people is sad and deserves our heartfelt sympathy, but to make it a political issue is fishing in troubled waters. In India death is cheap – witness the 100 odd deaths in a week in a train accident and floods in UP and Uttaranchal. The number of Kashmiris dying is not relevant – the manner of their deaths is. Most have died not in surreptitious or suspicious actions, but in a legitimate open manner in Police action to quell dangerous and violent mobs. There can be no prosecution of policemen doing their job at peril to their own life – or are policemen’s lives cheap ? The risk is of the Police refusing to face mobs or running away – as we saw in the Gujjar agitation. An invitation to lawlessness across the Country. Where there has been prima facie malafide intentions or deliberate use of unnecessary force, the demand for an investigation is legitimate. The separatists focus on these deaths tends to divert attention from real issues. What do the agitators want ? What action does the Govt need to take ? Where do we go from here ? Instead all talk is – did the CM visit the hospitals or the victims’ families ? Is there a failure of governance ? Of course not. Probably because nobody in the media knows the right question to ask.

In a televised show on the recent events in Kashmir, on NDTV 24X7, the cacophony of dissonance was astounding. Only the Anchor – Vikram Chandra seemed to speak any sense – everyone else just stuck to extreme positions and shouted each other down ! The show was “The Big Fight” and there certainly was one ! Vikram, who very optimistically wanted a consensus at the end, was forced to admit failure. Very similar to the national discourse on the subject.

To the Kashmiris, I say, look at the immense positives of Kashmir and of India and of Kashmir in India. You are one of the most prosperous States in India. You have a rich and fertile land and culture, with unmatched natural beauty. You are a gentle and peace-loving people. You have tremendous potential to grow and prosper even more and achieve the highest per capita level of happiness in India. You must march in sync with a confident and forward looking Country, respected within the comity of Nations. And where does Geelani and his separatists want to take you ? To Pakistan ? Because, as I said, Independence is just not an option. Compare the two Countries and make an informed and rational choice. I am not saying that Pakistan is a terrible Country – but in a comparison with India, it definitely comes out second best, by a long margin.

India – like Shashi Tharoor said in a TED lecture – is a country which is 81 percent Hindu and in 2004, a Roman Catholic woman, head of the UPA Coalition, makes way for a Sikh Prime Minister to be sworn in by a Muslim President! And he in turn was succeeded by a woman as President with a Muslim Vice President. An ancient people and culture who have never invaded another Country. But has been invaded and colonized numerous times and absorbed the religion and culture of its invaders, without losing its own. As Atal Behari Vajpayee said of India, in Chennai, on 13 Sep 2003, “….a country with 4,635 communities, 325 languages and 24 scripts. It is the birthplace of four major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism – not to mention the animistic cults of tribals and is home to Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism”. A vibrant Democracy, the largest in the World and unbroken since 1947, where every type of Freedom flourishes. A liberalized economy where opportunities abound. Where the Army obeys the Govt without political interference, and respects and defends the Constitution and where every caste, creed, community and religion is represented in Governance. Some call it anarchic, but it functions well nevertheless. Of course, like any fledgling democracy and developing nation, we have problems galore – but at least the problems are known, and solutions being either being deliberated upon, being formulated or implemented, albeit inefficiently (Democracies unlike Autocracies tend to be chaotic – preps for CWG vs Beijing Olympics ?!!). And Pakistan – I won’t specifically categorise it, but suffice it to say – mostly the opposite.

Kashmiris – your future lies in your hands. You can always elect your Govt and your CM, as you have done recently. You don’t want the CRPF in your urban areas ? Or the Army in your rural ? Throw them out. You don’t like the AFSPA ? Repeal it. You don’t like curfews ? Lift it. You want jobs ? Create them. You think the Centre is not responsive enough ? Make them listen to your genuine grievances. Or too interfering ? Tell them to lay off – we Kashmiris can look after ourselves. You want communal and religious harmony ?Harmonise them yourself – and as a start point, call the Pandits back to their homes, from where the terrorists chased them out. Do you think all of this is too hard to accomplish ? Not at all. All you have to do is be forward looking and positive. Forget your turbulent History or at least keep it in cold storage, and for the time being maintain peace and calm. Stop listening to divisive leaders, who are relics of the past and want to foment trouble just to stay relevant. Say “enough is enough” to terrorists and infiltrators from across. Trust your mainstream political leaders like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who genuinely want the best for you. Just do these few things and voila! You will be on a fast track to peace, prosperity and well-being which the young of Kashmir have always craved for and never seen. The AFSPA will melt away with the morning mist. The Central Armed Forces will become unemployed and rumble away in their trucks (except for the minimum numbers required to be deployed on the Line of Control – and they will be looking outwards.) You will be free to pursue your dreams and the dreams of your children; that is the legacy you owe them – not of bitterness, hatred and violence. And all of that is in your hands, to be done by your own volition. Start today.

The choice Kashmiris must make

A current view on Jammu & Kashmir — rational and logical.

By Brigadier Ajit Nair (Retired)

The Nation has been keenly watching the ongoing hiatus in the Kashmir Valley. Those who understand the political stakes involved and the vested interests at play, trying to jockey themselves into favourable positions once sanity prevails –are sickened at the unnecessary violence and the loss of life. The vast majority – who don’t understand – fall into two camps. One thinks that Kashmiris are being brutally repressed and the other feels that they are being pampered and wonders what the fuss is all about. Both, of course are far from the truth.

I’d like to put down a fresh perspective on the issue, conceived from studying J & K for decades and my experience of having served there for five separate tenures – over eight years in all.

A word about myself. I’m a recently retired Army officer from the South. I’m completely apolitical and though a Hindu, have no love lost for fundamentalists – either Hindu or Muslim. I have no hatred for Kashmiris nor any prejudices against them. I’m taking a completely impartial view, though I sometimes may sound somewhat cold or emotionless – which the truth often is. We’re not going to solve the Kashmir issue through emotion – only a rational and logical solution will work.

First and foremost, we need to make it absolutely clear to the Kashmiri youth that Independence for J & K IS NOT AN OPTION – Autonomy is. Inexplicably, there seems to be hesitation on the part of the Govt or other players involved in saying this unequivocally. Both India and Pakistan are Federal States with a diverse population. Independence for one State would lead to similar demands from many others, as has happened before and is still happening. Independence for J & K would negate our diversity and raison de etre and would be an unmitigated disaster for both Countries. This must be said often and repeated at every forum, because this is the absolute truth and though the separatists may not like it, even they know it is the reality. Otherwise, the misguided youth of Kashmir seem to think that even though Independence is not an immediately viable option – at least there is a glimmer of hope, something to fight for. There frankly isn’t a hope in hell that India or Pakistan will permit this to ever happen. There is just no use fighting with this Aim in mind and if the aim is unattainable, then the fight is futile.

If hypothetically, a Plebiscite or better still, an opinion poll is held, chances are that a vote for India will prevail. All minority communities (Hindus, Buddhists, Gujjars and Bakherwals, Shia Muslims and Sikhs) will vote against Pakistan and against an Independence with a majority Sunni Muslim population. Even rational Muslims will see the fragility of the new State surrounded by three large nuclear neighbours. Domination or exploitation by any one of them is a certainty. Only within a democratic India is the safety and prosperity of J & K assured.

The current violence in the Valley is inexplicable. In recent years, we have seen the conduct of two successful elections, success against terrorists, diminished support for secessionists and revival in tourism. Then what prompted the youth to suddenly become ‘stone pelters’ ? “Spontaneous”, or “by people not leaders” are unconvincing. Such large-scale and sustained agitations need organisation and leadership. In the absence of any provocation by the State, one can only agree with the hypothesis of the Govt that it is externally motivated and possibly controlled. Aided and abetted by the ‘separatists’. The killings (of over 100 Kashmiris) in the last three months or so cannot be the reason, as claimed. That was a fallout of the demonstrations and unprovoked violence against the State and not vice versa. At best, chicken and egg. Any grievance that the youth had could have amicably been discussed and resolved with their own Kashmiri Muslim Chief Minister, recently elected by them in a 61% turnout election.

Apologists keep talking about “bullets against stones”. For heaven’s sake, do they expect the Police and Para-military to pick up the pelters stones and throw it back at them? Certainly not. Violence will beget violence and the Police will use the weapons at their disposal and upgrade their response as the violence continues. And that’s true of any Democracy in the world. India is, by all definitions, a “soft” State (poor intelligence, poorly armed and equipped Police, reactive and slow responses due to chronic indecisiveness, no political consensus even for national issues and constant back-pedaling in the face of political opposition and bickering). But the State response, while not trying to be deliberately repressive, can certainly be ham-handed and ill-thought out – and there will be collateral damage. Could this prolonged violent agitation have happened in any Western Democracy ? Would it have been permitted in any illiberal Muslim State – like Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia or Libya ? Certainly not. Or try it in Theocratic Nations like Saudi Arabia or Iran ! Or even in Communist China. It would have been crushed. Even in any other State in India, it would have received a much sterner response. Only J & K could have got away with it.

Kashmiris must understand that there is no genuine support whatsoever for Azadi from any quarters. The Lashkar-e-toiba and other Pakistani terrorist groups have their own pan-Islamic agenda and the ISI has its own – any help they may have rendered over the last two decades was incidental and probably retrograde for the Kashmiri cause. World powers (read US) are fed-up of Islamic terrorism and the line between terrorism and “freedom fighters” has blurred considerably. No support, no mediation there. The States of Pakistan and China may help – not through any love of Kashmir, but merely to keep India embroiled and “weak”. But they have their own Islamic worries and vulnerabilities too. Waziristan and Xinzhuang respectively. Can’t get too involved. If I was a separatist or an informed youth of Kashmir, I’d see the writing on the wall. No Independence. Cut my losses and see how I can lead a better life.

All talk shows have shown that the Kashmiris leadership focuses on the over 100 deaths in 100 odd days. That, I’m afraid is neither here nor there. Admittedly, deaths of innocent young people is sad and deserves our heartfelt sympathy, but to make it a political issue is fishing in troubled waters. In India death is cheap – witness the 100 odd deaths in a week in a train accident and floods in UP and Uttaranchal. The number of Kashmiris dying is not relevant – the manner of their deaths is. Most have died not in surreptitious or suspicious actions, but in a legitimate open manner in Police action to quell dangerous and violent mobs. There can be no prosecution of policemen doing their job at peril to their own life – or are policemen’s lives cheap ? The risk is of the Police refusing to face mobs or running away – as we saw in the Gujjar agitation. An invitation to lawlessness across the Country. Where there has been prima facie malafide intentions or deliberate use of unnecessary force, the demand for an investigation is legitimate. The separatists focus on these deaths tends to divert attention from real issues. What do the agitators want ? What action does the Govt need to take ? Where do we go from here ? Instead all talk is – did the CM visit the hospitals or the victims’ families ? Is there a failure of governance ? Of course not. Probably because nobody in the media knows the right question to ask.

In a televised show on the recent events in Kashmir, on NDTV 24X7, the cacophony of dissonance was astounding. Only the Anchor – Vikram Chandra seemed to speak any sense – everyone else just stuck to extreme positions and shouted each other down ! The show was “The Big Fight” and there certainly was one ! Vikram, who very optimistically wanted a consensus at the end, was forced to admit failure. Very similar to the national discourse on the subject.

To the Kashmiris, I say, look at the immense positives of Kashmir and of India and of Kashmir in India. You are one of the most prosperous States in India. You have a rich and fertile land and culture, with unmatched natural beauty. You are a gentle and peace-loving people. You have tremendous potential to grow and prosper even more and achieve the highest per capita level of happiness in India. You must march in sync with a confident and forward looking Country, respected within the comity of Nations. And where does Geelani and his separatists want to take you ? To Pakistan ? Because, as I said, Independence is just not an option. Compare the two Countries and make an informed and rational choice. I am not saying that Pakistan is a terrible Country – but in a comparison with India, it definitely comes out second best, by a long margin.

India – like Shashi Tharoor said in a TED lecture – is a country which is 81 percent Hindu and in 2004, a Roman Catholic woman, head of the UPA Coalition, makes way for a Sikh Prime Minister to be sworn in by a Muslim President! And he in turn was succeeded by a woman as President with a Muslim Vice President. An ancient people and culture who have never invaded another Country. But has been invaded and colonized numerous times and absorbed the religion and culture of its invaders, without losing its own. As Atal Behari Vajpayee said of India, in Chennai, on 13 Sep 2003, “….a country with 4,635 communities, 325 languages and 24 scripts. It is the birthplace of four major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism – not to mention the animistic cults of tribals and is home to Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism”. A vibrant Democracy, the largest in the World and unbroken since 1947, where every type of Freedom flourishes. A liberalized economy where opportunities abound. Where the Army obeys the Govt without political interference, and respects and defends the Constitution and where every caste, creed, community and religion is represented in Governance. Some call it anarchic, but it functions well nevertheless. Of course, like any fledgling democracy and developing nation, we have problems galore – but at least the problems are known, and solutions being either being deliberated upon, being formulated or implemented, albeit inefficiently (Democracies unlike Autocracies tend to be chaotic – preps for CWG vs Beijing Olympics ?!!). And Pakistan – I won’t specifically categorise it, but suffice it to say – mostly the opposite.

Kashmiris – your future lies in your hands. You can always elect your Govt and your CM, as you have done recently. You don’t want the CRPF in your urban areas ? Or the Army in your rural ? Throw them out. You don’t like the AFSPA ? Repeal it. You don’t like curfews ? Lift it. You want jobs ? Create them. You think the Centre is not responsive enough ? Make them listen to your genuine grievances. Or too interfering ? Tell them to lay off – we Kashmiris can look after ourselves. You want communal and religious harmony ?Harmonise them yourself – and as a start point, call the Pandits back to their homes, from where the terrorists chased them out. Do you think all of this is too hard to accomplish ? Not at all. All you have to do is be forward looking and positive. Forget your turbulent History or at least keep it in cold storage, and for the time being maintain peace and calm. Stop listening to divisive leaders, who are relics of the past and want to foment trouble just to stay relevant. Say “enough is enough” to terrorists and infiltrators from across. Trust your mainstream political leaders like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who genuinely want the best for you. Just do these few things and voila! You will be on a fast track to peace, prosperity and well-being which the young of Kashmir have always craved for and never seen. The AFSPA will melt away with the morning mist. The Central Armed Forces will become unemployed and rumble away in their trucks (except for the minimum numbers required to be deployed on the Line of Control – and they will be looking outwards.) You will be free to pursue your dreams and the dreams of your children; that is the legacy you owe them – not of bitterness, hatred and violence. And all of that is in your hands, to be done by your own volition. Start today.