Damn.....net speed or my absent-mindedness or too consumed in other work.......???
“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”— Rizwan Ali (@Sheikh_Miyagi) April 25, 2018
― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta @NoJoe20 @sahaafi @AKLM_Official @islamnummah @kashmir_eye @TahirAbbas_ @ForwardPartners #ajk
If for nothing else, Mahmood Ahmed Musafir will always be remembered for activating the thought-process involved in making the above tweet a reality in AJK.
Today, we took the struggle of Mahmood Ahmed Musafir to the podium at Central Bar Association - Muzaffarabad. His speech was followed by me summarising the constitutional history of our territory and explaining the importance of freedom of speech, amongst other concepts. In fact, here's a bullet list of points that I made for my speech:
- In order to get the world to take us (The citizens of Jammu & Kashmir) seriously, we need to develop a consensus on public policy in our territory - with a clearly defined narrative - which reflects public opinion here.
- Jo khud apney hal ke liye jad o jehd karey usi ko dunya tawajo deti hay..na ke wo jo insaani huqooq ki khilaf warzi khud karey - dunya us ki wakaalat par tawajo de.....
(Translation: The world only gives attention to those who take the initiative to struggle for a solution...not those who commit human rights violations themselves - for the world does not take their advocacy seriously)
- Public opinion & future decision of territory...layers of hijack in sequence.
- To address our lack of agency, our public have never done tasks in sequence here...or read or understood in sequence either....
- K H Khursheed - most important politician to study - for forward movement in AJK
- Sardar Qayoom - If you want to study how AJK regressed. Cite example of 'Operation 70'....of 1990s - 10 nationalists times 7 districts (at time).
- Maharajah's stance:
For Jammu & Kashmir to be neutral like Switzerland
From autocracy to symbolic monarchy like Great Britain (United Kingdom) while transferring powers to Praja Sabha (People's Assembly).
We need to study documents of communication between State of J & K and British India pre 1947.
1947 timeline:
Beginning of Poonch Rebellion.....instability invoked/created.
Indian Independence Act - 3 June announcement
7.2 ...Rulers deciding fate
Jinnah Sb's press info on 17 June...a constitutional expert's interpretation validating independence.
Standstill Agreement (an instrument of IIA)....understand...constitutional relationship starts here...how was that broken?
Pakistan's role...breaking agreement through witholding supplies and creating instabilty in State.
August Partition
India's role....Changing from pro-independence PM of J & K State Ram Chander Kak to Indian Gen Janak Singh..then in October replacing him with M C Mahajan who was part of Radcliffe's team that divided Punjab. Who now prepares de facto extension of that 'Radcliffe Line' through the State of J & K.
4 October...Announcement of 'Revolutionary Government' for Jammu & Kashmir
'Farzi naam' (superficial names of cabinet members)...announced in some hotel in Pakistan. Dubious in almost every sense.
22 October...
Qabaili (Tribal) attack from Pakistan
24 October.....Fresh Announcement of 'Revolutionary Government' for Jammu & Kashmir at Junjaal Hill - Palandri in what became the basis for AJK or Azad Kashmir.
False statements in declaration:
1) We have taken control of most of state....
2) Non muslims will be consulted..
27 October
Indian role - Moundbatten - proviso of people's decision when peace returns
1948
UN - not our forum (yet?)
1949
Karachi Agreement - 28 April (info made public many months later according to Sneddon...Sardar Ibrahim also gave conflicting statements about it.
Karachi Agreement - 27 July - An agreement between the militaries of India and Pakistan - which is the basic uderstanding of mutually agreeing to control the population of J & K on either side.
1) Hard power compared to soft power
2) Muslims...Non Muslims....discussion debate....
3) Water use...key technology but attention deficit...both India and Pakistan extremely inefficient in managing water..so is rest of world proportionately.
Singapore has done extensive research on water management.
World media and academia, think-tanks....not paying enough attention to these concepts.
- Freedom of Expression is methodology....not any specific ideology
(It happens to be No.11 of Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's 32 demands)
It also directly relates to the concept of self-determination
- I don't like terminologies like nationalist, tabqaati jad o jehd (class struggle), samraaj/mazdoor (imperial/ploretariat) etc...
- We are all citizens....and our organisational formation for a solution should voluntarily include each and every citizen...in the given defined territory (of AJK)...ascertained through State Subject Rule 1927.
- Trying to mobilise political party formation for delivery is impossible...politicking will damage any good work in public interest.
- Having grip of identifying difference between personal interest and public interest
- Change Dynamics
'Outside in' compared to 'Inside out'....latter is our approach using following 2 concepts
OBMs (Ownership-Building Measures) and Public Agency
- Have to streamline public opinion - to create genuine indigenous public policy.
- 1,000 most significant citizens proportional to tehsil population need to be identified and pitched..to develop a consensus in AJK
- There are 3 established means of ascertaining public opinion:
1) Elections - Under military occupation whereby format is designed and controlled by occupying power
2) Referendum - UK Brexit and Scottish Independence examples and how they were different from election results
3) Public Opinion Survey - cite example of Northern Ireland talks...survey used to advance table talk on peace..and develop agreement after many decades of conflict
Soft Power (What is it in the context of AJK?)
Make genuine space for religious minorities of our state in AJK
Examples:
1) Sharda for Kashmiri Pandits....boost civilization and economy...cite AJK Supreme Court Verdict....which became news on the 8th of February when Shujaat Bukhari wrote in Pakistan's Friday Times..
Quote Raja Farooq Haider and Pakistani Army opposition to Pandit re-entry (to Sharda) during discussion in 2010...
Interestingly, all my meetings with him have been while he was in opposition. I phoned his secretary last year..who put down phone when I asked for an appointment.
When I tried to contact Sardar Masood around the same time - his military sec/attache didn't give me an appointment.
2) Ali Beg Gurdwara for Sikhs of J & K - near district border of Bhimber and Mirpur (in close proximity to Upper Jhelum Canal)
- Meanwhile, an effort is being made to contact 650 MPs in UK Parliament..a 3 page document written by me has been circulated...to invoke a response and lobby for discussion in parliament.
- Question for Switzerland:
How much does it cost to pay for a neutral State?
- White flags in Azaadi Chowk - Muzaffarabad will send most powerul message to the world that we are ready for a solution.
- Open up narrative debate: (Competition between 3 nationalist narratives)
Create genuine public space
i.e. If someone in AJK can work for Pakistan, then how can working for India here be a crime? Particularly in the context of Pakistan's narrative that 'Kashmiris have only 2 options in the UN'.
- There is a lot of pent up intellectual curiosity in AJK...Educated members of the public desperately want to latch onto a constructive model for thinking and imagining a solution but can't see it even if it were decorated like a Pakistani truck.
That constructive model exists but needs an academic forum to discuss....and be cross-examined.
- Civil Society here doesn't have access to any international institution. Not even the United Nations Department for Political Affairs or UNMOGIP (Created by the disbanded UNCIP which in turn emerged via UN Security Council Resolution No. 47 of 21 April 1948)
Where's the space and scope for peaceful activism here?
- On 18th April, even Theresa May probably forgot to mention the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, in her hurried and tired response to a question from the opposition bench in parliament.
Finally, it should be mentioned that a sweet and sour bulldozer was metaphorically used by the AJK Government to combat Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's genuine quest for basic public service delivery here.
In my opinion, talks on Monday the 23rd April with the AJK Govt were merely the 2nd round of a boxing match of 12 rounds....
End..
Note:
Not all the points were mentioned due to lack of time (13 minutes). The above as stated at the outset of my speech are points more suited for an academic forum. At the end of my speech, I urged the lawyers of Muzaffarabad to help the rest of civil society arrange such a discussion at AJK University - Muzaffarabad. More importantly, for Mahmood Ahmed Musafir and his unique struggle.
Today, we took the struggle of Mahmood Ahmed Musafir to the podium at Central Bar Association - Muzaffarabad. His speech was followed by me summarising the constitutional history of our territory and explaining the importance of freedom of speech, amongst other concepts. In fact, here's a bullet list of points that I made for my speech:
- In order to get the world to take us (The citizens of Jammu & Kashmir) seriously, we need to develop a consensus on public policy in our territory - with a clearly defined narrative - which reflects public opinion here.
- Jo khud apney hal ke liye jad o jehd karey usi ko dunya tawajo deti hay..na ke wo jo insaani huqooq ki khilaf warzi khud karey - dunya us ki wakaalat par tawajo de.....
(Translation: The world only gives attention to those who take the initiative to struggle for a solution...not those who commit human rights violations themselves - for the world does not take their advocacy seriously)
- Public opinion & future decision of territory...layers of hijack in sequence.
- To address our lack of agency, our public have never done tasks in sequence here...or read or understood in sequence either....
- K H Khursheed - most important politician to study - for forward movement in AJK
- Sardar Qayoom - If you want to study how AJK regressed. Cite example of 'Operation 70'....of 1990s - 10 nationalists times 7 districts (at time).
- Maharajah's stance:
For Jammu & Kashmir to be neutral like Switzerland
From autocracy to symbolic monarchy like Great Britain (United Kingdom) while transferring powers to Praja Sabha (People's Assembly).
We need to study documents of communication between State of J & K and British India pre 1947.
1947 timeline:
Beginning of Poonch Rebellion.....instability invoked/created.
Indian Independence Act - 3 June announcement
7.2 ...Rulers deciding fate
Jinnah Sb's press info on 17 June...a constitutional expert's interpretation validating independence.
Standstill Agreement (an instrument of IIA)....understand...constitutional relationship starts here...how was that broken?
Pakistan's role...breaking agreement through witholding supplies and creating instabilty in State.
August Partition
India's role....Changing from pro-independence PM of J & K State Ram Chander Kak to Indian Gen Janak Singh..then in October replacing him with M C Mahajan who was part of Radcliffe's team that divided Punjab. Who now prepares de facto extension of that 'Radcliffe Line' through the State of J & K.
4 October...Announcement of 'Revolutionary Government' for Jammu & Kashmir
'Farzi naam' (superficial names of cabinet members)...announced in some hotel in Pakistan. Dubious in almost every sense.
22 October...
Qabaili (Tribal) attack from Pakistan
24 October.....Fresh Announcement of 'Revolutionary Government' for Jammu & Kashmir at Junjaal Hill - Palandri in what became the basis for AJK or Azad Kashmir.
False statements in declaration:
1) We have taken control of most of state....
2) Non muslims will be consulted..
27 October
Indian role - Moundbatten - proviso of people's decision when peace returns
1948
UN - not our forum (yet?)
1949
Karachi Agreement - 28 April (info made public many months later according to Sneddon...Sardar Ibrahim also gave conflicting statements about it.
Karachi Agreement - 27 July - An agreement between the militaries of India and Pakistan - which is the basic uderstanding of mutually agreeing to control the population of J & K on either side.
1) Hard power compared to soft power
2) Muslims...Non Muslims....discussion debate....
3) Water use...key technology but attention deficit...both India and Pakistan extremely inefficient in managing water..so is rest of world proportionately.
Singapore has done extensive research on water management.
World media and academia, think-tanks....not paying enough attention to these concepts.
- Freedom of Expression is methodology....not any specific ideology
(It happens to be No.11 of Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's 32 demands)
It also directly relates to the concept of self-determination
- I don't like terminologies like nationalist, tabqaati jad o jehd (class struggle), samraaj/mazdoor (imperial/ploretariat) etc...
- We are all citizens....and our organisational formation for a solution should voluntarily include each and every citizen...in the given defined territory (of AJK)...ascertained through State Subject Rule 1927.
- Trying to mobilise political party formation for delivery is impossible...politicking will damage any good work in public interest.
- Having grip of identifying difference between personal interest and public interest
- Change Dynamics
'Outside in' compared to 'Inside out'....latter is our approach using following 2 concepts
OBMs (Ownership-Building Measures) and Public Agency
- Have to streamline public opinion - to create genuine indigenous public policy.
- 1,000 most significant citizens proportional to tehsil population need to be identified and pitched..to develop a consensus in AJK
- There are 3 established means of ascertaining public opinion:
1) Elections - Under military occupation whereby format is designed and controlled by occupying power
2) Referendum - UK Brexit and Scottish Independence examples and how they were different from election results
3) Public Opinion Survey - cite example of Northern Ireland talks...survey used to advance table talk on peace..and develop agreement after many decades of conflict
Soft Power (What is it in the context of AJK?)
Make genuine space for religious minorities of our state in AJK
Examples:
1) Sharda for Kashmiri Pandits....boost civilization and economy...cite AJK Supreme Court Verdict....which became news on the 8th of February when Shujaat Bukhari wrote in Pakistan's Friday Times..
Quote Raja Farooq Haider and Pakistani Army opposition to Pandit re-entry (to Sharda) during discussion in 2010...
Interestingly, all my meetings with him have been while he was in opposition. I phoned his secretary last year..who put down phone when I asked for an appointment.
When I tried to contact Sardar Masood around the same time - his military sec/attache didn't give me an appointment.
2) Ali Beg Gurdwara for Sikhs of J & K - near district border of Bhimber and Mirpur (in close proximity to Upper Jhelum Canal)
- Meanwhile, an effort is being made to contact 650 MPs in UK Parliament..a 3 page document written by me has been circulated...to invoke a response and lobby for discussion in parliament.
- Question for Switzerland:
How much does it cost to pay for a neutral State?
- White flags in Azaadi Chowk - Muzaffarabad will send most powerul message to the world that we are ready for a solution.
- Open up narrative debate: (Competition between 3 nationalist narratives)
Create genuine public space
i.e. If someone in AJK can work for Pakistan, then how can working for India here be a crime? Particularly in the context of Pakistan's narrative that 'Kashmiris have only 2 options in the UN'.
- There is a lot of pent up intellectual curiosity in AJK...Educated members of the public desperately want to latch onto a constructive model for thinking and imagining a solution but can't see it even if it were decorated like a Pakistani truck.
That constructive model exists but needs an academic forum to discuss....and be cross-examined.
- Civil Society here doesn't have access to any international institution. Not even the United Nations Department for Political Affairs or UNMOGIP (Created by the disbanded UNCIP which in turn emerged via UN Security Council Resolution No. 47 of 21 April 1948)
Where's the space and scope for peaceful activism here?
- On 18th April, even Theresa May probably forgot to mention the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, in her hurried and tired response to a question from the opposition bench in parliament.
Finally, it should be mentioned that a sweet and sour bulldozer was metaphorically used by the AJK Government to combat Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's genuine quest for basic public service delivery here.
In my opinion, talks on Monday the 23rd April with the AJK Govt were merely the 2nd round of a boxing match of 12 rounds....
End..
Note:
Not all the points were mentioned due to lack of time (13 minutes). The above as stated at the outset of my speech are points more suited for an academic forum. At the end of my speech, I urged the lawyers of Muzaffarabad to help the rest of civil society arrange such a discussion at AJK University - Muzaffarabad. More importantly, for Mahmood Ahmed Musafir and his unique struggle.
This post is interesting. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThere is awesome news for travellers and nature lovers. Munnar in Kerala known as the Kashmir of the south is preparing to welcome the 'Neelakurinji blooming season' in 2018 after waiting for 12 long years.
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