Daily Diary (DD) - Day 305 of 2021

1007hrs:

I'm trying to leave Muzaffarabad but Muzaffarabad isn't leaving me. Various trials of endurance seem to occur most when I'm in the capital.

I will try again today.

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One important item on the agenda in Muzaffarabad was to re-visit the Department of Tourism & Archaeology, in reference to unsettled matters from the 13th of September:

Urdu video

 

In summary:

1 Nov 2021 outside Department of Tourism & Archaeology in Muzaffarabad after meeting Secretary Imtiaz Ahmed ref #Sharda Peeth 

3 matters agreed: 

1) Portraits will be restored inside sanctum 

2) Notice of request to take off footwear will be restored outside sanctum 

3) All restoration work on Peeth will involve prior consultation with the Kashmiri Pandit community

Camera work conducted by: Malik Waseem  

English video

1 Nov 2021 @ Dt. T & A Mzd after meeting Sec. Imtiaz Ahmed ref #Sharda
3 matters agreed:
1) Portraits will b restored inside sanctum
2) Notice/request 2 take off footwear will b restored outside sanctum
3) All restoration work n Peeth will involve prior consultation with KPs pic.twitter.com/Vo8YHHv9EH

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) November 3, 2021

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It's not often that we get to hear the 'real deal' in Gilgit Baltistan, more so on the day that commemorates the 1st of November 1947 rebellion against the Dogra governed State of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas. Here's an apt example from an opposition leader Amjad Advocate (President of the PPP - Pakistan People's Party - GB Chapter) in the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly:

Translated thus:

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Let's sample life of our very own nomadic shepherds viz. the Gujjar Bakarwal of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir:

 

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 163 of 2020

2300hrs:

This has been the most physically enduring week in living memory for me. 

I hope it gets easier here on but that can never be taken for granted....

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I think this gesture will go a long way in repairing the mistrust that has emerged over the past 73 years between our 2 most prominent communities in Jammu Kashmir & Allied:

Extremism has no place in the land of rishis and Sufis. Civil society of the majority community has a larger role to play in rehabilitation of kashmiri pandits in valley. Killing of Ajay Pandita sarpanch by jehadis have widened the gap & there is no condemnation from Kashmiris.🍁 https://t.co/Non1cfQUXI

— Ravinder Pandita (@panditaAPMCC63) June 10, 2020

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 127 of 2020

2054hrs:

Let's talk sovereignty today as it fits like hand in glove with The People's Assembly, an internal democratic process pursued by the people in the territory officially described as AJK.

There are 5 types according to Political Science Notes.

I'll just list them here before developing the argument:

1) Nominal Arid Real Sovereignty

2) Legal Sovereignty

3) Political Sovereignty

4) Popular Sovereignty


5) De Facto and De Jure Sovereignty

So in Jammu Kashmir & Allied we're stuck in the transition impasse (from 1) Nominal Sovereignty (Dogra Rule) to 4) Popular Sovereignty (The People's Assembly) and as time passes - 73 years and counting - we're in danger of being swamped into circumstances where 5) De Facto Sovereignty (in the shape of India and Pakistan) is now trying to secure that settlement to De Jure Sovereignty, by using machinations and obfuscation to blur the concepts of 2) Legal Sovereignty and 3) Political Sovereignty, not least by imposing their nationalist narratives on us, exploiting divisions within us and physically keeping us apart with a military line jointly manned by them. 

August the 5th 2019 in Indian-controlled J & K was a big leap in this respect.

Our argument is that we've been subtly bypassed or skillfully manipulated throughout this whole process since 1947. The primary responsibility for this lack of 'due process' in power transition - from rulers to ruled in Jammu Kashmir & Allied - is the United Kingdom as successor to the British Empire.

This was - in a manner - explained in our audio message to the prime minister of AJK yesterday.

Here's some further traction on this point:



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 363 of 2019

1325hrs:

Today, I finally decided to type in Urdu myself. This decision was made after going through various experiments with various co-citizens. This proved time consuming, exhausting and expensive where I still needed to pay as much attention as I would need to do the work myself.

I don't think my co-citizens fully understand the concept of research and its importance in delivering clarity in public affairs. 

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The activists of GB have always proved themselves to be more worldly-wise than us in AJK:

Why the state of Pakistan has not been deliberately providing electricity to natural Hydroelectric power station of Gilgit-Baltistan for years. pic.twitter.com/nKNX9mJq5v

— Hasnain Ramal حسنین رمل (@nisarhasnain2) December 29, 2019

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Many thanks to Ravinder Pandita Ji for promoting this clip, which covers the notion of an impending cross road where the national interests of India, Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan converge on the subject of religious heritage:

GOI cites it is Pakistan, who is not concurring the proposal, but the fact remains when I applied for LoC permit last Dec, it was rejected by J&K State CID, though entertained & cleared by RPO & SIB. Let us keep on pressing and create an awareness on both sides. Kudos to civil. https://t.co/pTQF6xdQvO

— Ravinder Pandita (@panditaAPMCC63) December 29, 2019

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 344 of 2019

1237hrs:

Worked beyond midnight as discussion on the People's Assembly intensified in a Whatsapp Group. I had to listen to over 100 minutes of a multitude of audio clips, take notes and then respond with about 33 minutes of assorted clips myself. This whole process took about 3 hours and I didn't get to sleep before 0500hrs. 

Thus, I couldn't get up before midday. Now, I'm again running behind time....need to play catch up on this international day for human rights. 

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I actually posted this tweet in the early hours of the morning:

The #British colonial legacy is so embedded n #JandK that a Conservative MP cannot criticise #India & a Labour MP cannot criticise #Pakistan. This ensures that even a mature & relatively vibrant democracy like the #UK structurally forestalls a democratic solution via its diaspora

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) December 9, 2019

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Outside the AJK President's House on International Human Right's Day:



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Here is what I wrote in response to a question about the People's Assembly today. The question was in Urdu and hence the response was also thought out in Roman Urdu. I will translate into English of course:

Mojooda AJK Assembly ki qanoon saazi ke fuqdaan se ye takaaza wajood me aata hay - bilkhusoos aaj ke tanaazur me jaha 5 mulk humey mustaqil taqseem karney par agley 2 maa me tulley huwey hain. 

Wo bhi beghair kisi qanooni, jamhoori, akhlaaqi zariye se, aur jaha wo aman ko qaim rakhney ke faraiz ko bhi tarak kar rahey hain.

Lehaaza humey (AJK ke shehryo ko) is waqt se pehle dunya ko aik jadeed, tehqeeq ki bunyaad par aik androona (internal) political process waazai karna parega. 

Us ki output 100 shehryo ki shakal me aik Awaami Assembly me hay. Jis ka pehla session Government Secretariat me January 2020 ke kisi itwaar ko munaqad karna naa guzeer hay. 

Shukrya

English translation of the above:


Then in response to a query from the public:

Humey pehley session me baa-izzat tareeqey se discussion karna chahtey hay aur dunya ke saamney apna public bayaaniya dena chahtey hay bas. Ye koi ehtejaaj nahi aur nahi kisi tabqey ka amal hay. Hamaari riyasat/mumlikat ke waaris 1927 ke qanoon me waazay hain.

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If I had only one sentence to say about International Human Rights Day in the context of Jammu & Kashmir, it would be something from the following:

Government of Pakistan: Free Baba Jan - The longest serving political prisoner in Gilgit Baltistan. - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/ipRPASpVPt via @Change #BabaJaan #InternationalHumanRightsDay

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) December 10, 2019

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 343 of 2019

1452hrs:

After a great endurance test yesterday whereby we (my assistant and I) had almost nothing to eat or drink from morning till almost 2100hrs (9pm), we are now in the clear after a blitz of contacting co-citizens at home and abroad. Our daily diary publishing structure is also almost up to date after a couple of weeks of grappling with various items scattered all over our offline space.

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For the past many weeks I have been meaning to pay tribute to a distinguished but alas late professor Richard Bonney, whom I should and could have associated with but didn't, in the later years of his 70 year existence on this earth.

Courtesy: University of Leicester 

My acquaintance with the late professor began soon after he quoted me and in particular my then recent article in Rising Kashmir, in a round-table Kashmir Conference at the House of Lords in May 2011.

From CBMs to OBMs 

He then took the initiative of critiquing the OBM (Ownership-Building-Measures) concept I had introduced. Details of this are also in the hyperlink above.

We had a good long conversation over Skype soon after and he was very keen to academically collaborate with me in reference to my work on AJK in particular and J & K in general. He also mentioned that the European Social Fund project on the origins of the modern state was led by him and he would be keen to include me (and my work) in it.

Professor Richard was also quite emotional about wanting to make amends for the ills emerging out of British colonialism, in what he described as his own modest way. At the time (2011) and until 2017 (in the year that he sadly died) I had been strictly and exclusively engaged with just the citizens of J & K (and AJK in particular). At the time, I felt that I needed to just communicate with my own people as they were my subject matter, it is they who I was trying to convince to exclusively fund me, support me and protect me. Ultimately it would be they who would be equipped to resolve our collective dilemma without external interference, which I have always felt to be the bane (poison) that killed our identity and subsequent right to exist on our own terms.  

I was conscious that Professor Bonney was a notable academic and also had his heart in the right place. However, I was so engrossed with my own people that I didn't reciprocate the professor's warm initiatives and since 2017 in particular when he died, I live to deeply regret my choice.

I was still fortunate to communicate with him just months before he died. It was touching of him to reply to me - via dictation to his wife Margaret - while in a hospitable bed and suffering from incurable cancer.

Here is what I wrote to him via email:

Inward while time flies

Tanveer Ahmed
3 Mar 2017, 02:14
to Richard

Dear Rev/Professor

I have felt very disturbed of late since I heard of your illness. I pray to the Almighty that he return your health and keep you going for much longer than you can imagine or feel.

I say this as a person who has experienced loss of extremely valuable people in these past few years - who through my negligence or miscalculation of priority - were not given the due attention that their intellect and knowledge of history deserved.

Particularly since 2011, my passion for addressing the stalemate otherwise generally described as the J & K issue has increasingly led me to look for answers from within the territory of AJK. Though this has provided much clarity on the direction ahead, the opportunity cost has been tragic too.

Just as I rue the missed opportunities of interacting more vigorously with the outside world - personally as well as professionally - I eagerly hope that with the publication of my impending 'public opinion' survey report on AJK, I can resume meaningful contact.

Please accept my apologies for not communicating more frequently in the past few years. It has been my loss and it hurts.

More importantly, I pray that you recover and give me the opportunity of learning from a critical friend.


God Bless you sir

End of my email....

I don't want to copy all of his reply as it could be disrespectful of the privacy that one deserves from a private conversation. There are but 2 sentences that can be deemed to be relevant to public interest:

"I would be very pleased to see your document, the 'public opinion' survey report on AJK.  Please do not be overly concerned about the relative lack of communication between us - you are a long way away, and have been working very hard on something which is dear to my heart."

The University of Leicester announced the news of his demise thus.

Some days later The Guardian wrote an obituary on the late but very dear professor.

He will be remembered for many academic accomplishments but I will remember him more for what could have been, if only I had used my time more wisely.

I'll finish with a link to a review of a book he co-authored with an Indian and Pakistani on the prospects for peace between the 2 foes, using the perspectives of retired Indian and Pakistani military leaders.

Rest in peace sir.

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I can relate to this:

Journalists in Kashmir are taking up manual labor jobs due to the internet ban over 4 months.This Kashmir Life story by Umar Khurshid is a reminder of how little we have done for ppl from Kashmir to get to tell their stories. The ones parachute reporters will never find.#Kashmir pic.twitter.com/48vTKDnP5O

— جپسی🍁 (@Gipsi0) December 9, 2019

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Got in some reading today:

One can notice the British Empire's footprints if they read between the lines of this brilliant piece of research:
Guilty Men of The Two-Nation Theory: A Hindutva Project Borrowed By Jinnah https://t.co/0uKjSwYqUk

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) December 9, 2019

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After a traditional Sunday break from uploading a daily video update Monday is here:



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It is interesting and possibly timely that Al Jazeera is doing a week of shows - on AJ Stream - on colonialism. This was my opening salvo:

#BritishColonialism continues 2 shape the lives of > a bn people n the Indian subcontinent including #JandK , certainly from a structural governance point of view. There has been almost zero political evolution here & the UK 2day continues 2 shrug off its share of responsibility.

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) December 9, 2019

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 334 of 2019

1135hrs:

Another day in court where arguments for the defence and prosecution were to be heard. However, the Qazi (judge in Islamic terminology) despite giving a date yesterday - for today - was absent. We will now return to his court on the 3rd of December (this coming Tuesday).

As reiterated on Facebook:



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We are continuing to receive coverage in the local Urdu press. In more than one publication now:

Daily Kashmir Uzma - Muzaffarabad (Urdu)

Back Page (1 of 2)

Back Page (2 of 2)

Page 3 Section 19

The Daily Siyasat also gave us coverage:

Daily Siyasat - Muzaffarabad (Urdu)

Front Page

These are positive indications from a public interest point of view. One, most local newspapers concentrate on acting as commercial advertising space for the Pakistani narrative, local politicians and for overall bolstering of perceptions for the imposed governance set-up, laced with rhetoric. Secondly, they charge people for publicity as advertising revenue doesn't quite fulfil the needs of the employees or the owners of the newspapers. The structure is such that media is sucked into the black hole of power and corruption. 

Giving coverage to public interest and on their own initiative - without payment or enticement - can be considered to be a positive step for civil society in AJK. Especially, if it remains consistent and sustains itself.

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With the deluge of information and analysis on virtually every topic of consequence available via social media on a daily basis, one has to fend off the temptation to delve into matters that have no direct impact on the State of Jammu & Kashmir's (re)formation project. However, the following is one such video that I felt compelled to watch for its bold initiative in examining China's role in East Turkistan or what China insists on calling 'Xinjiang'. What our people in the various parts of J & K endure is still on a scale a few notches below what China is evidently doing there but the pattern of repression is very similar:



Now, I would like to point out that we (the aspiring citizens of J & K) have bones to pick with each of the 5 following countries that are preventing us from naturally progressing as a nation State viz. China, India, Pakistan, UK and USA. We maintain our aspiration to remain neutral in principle. We are not highlighting China's crimes against humanity because we want to show USA in a good light etc. 

We are concerned that the country with which we share our longest border; remains engaged in forcibly integrating those areas which are geographically on its periphery and are not part of the mainstream Han Chinese population viz. Tibet and Xinjiang. As these areas are conterminous with us and thus have huge stakes for China especially given their keenness to expand their OBOR (One Belt One Road) project through our territory (via GB in particular), compounded by the fact that China has no democratic tradition puts a very serious dilemma in front of us. 

While we are engaged in avenues of activating global civil society in mature democracies such as UK and USA and while India and Pakistan are still struggling with nationhood in their own realms we see no such avenue to address China's stance on Jammu & Kashmir.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 333 of 2019

0737hrs:

Waking up early has to become the norm from now on, despite the onset of winter.

Winter didn't prevent us from the following either:



This was an angle too. A few hours of walking and sitting from Bank Road to the Courts followed by walking to the police station where my sandals - missing since the early hours of October the 26th - were returned to me. 

Day 9 in #Muzaffarabad and our current date with the local judiciary.#Urdu :

9 din hogaye hain Muzaffarabad me aur hamaari mojooda taareekh maqaami adliya ke saath.#AJKhttps://t.co/luXWMaKIbN pic.twitter.com/lL98YvP51H

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) November 29, 2019

My ancestral home had been raided, only 2 days earlier (on the 24th of October):

Who owns Jammu & Kashmir (and Allied)? 

Is dharti ke waaris kaun?

Who will protect it?

Is ke tahaffuz ka zimmidaar kaun?

Here's the application to the court for my 7 missing items:

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This theme of this tweet cannot be ignored either:

how is Pakistanis better than India in its treatment of Azad Kashmiris in UK? They're always demeaning us saying "ur not really from Kashmir, ur from Azad Kashmir", as if we don't know what our ethnic identity is. They're playing games with us to disconnect us from Jammu Kashmir!

— Rizwan Ali (@Sheikh_Miyagi) November 29, 2019

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 319 of 2019

1359hrs:

There is much available on the internet to help us understand the concept of money. I have yet to see a better explanation than the following documentary by Deutsche Welle (DW), a German state-owned public international broadcaster:

Comment:

Yet another humane initiative in which the Swiss are playing a leading role. We in Jammu & Kashmir are being deprived of that status and stature that could make us more Swiss than the Swiss themselves.

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Now, why am I not surprised at the following?:



Or with the following?



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 306 of 2019

1623hrs:

This photo was taken as we were leaving City Thana (Police Station) Muzaffarabad for the district courts on Monday the 28th of October:



If you can't read the text in the FB post above, here it is:

It is our contention that perhaps more than 40% of the prisoners at Raara Jail in Muzaffarabad Division should not be there. We have decided to investigate each case and publish a report.

Those prisoners that should not be there can be put to public interest use in society, as is practiced where civilisations thrive.

Divisional Commissioner Muzaffarabad can be empowered in this matter.


AJK Public Agency

End of FB text......

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I've always felt that modern day Germany has much to offer in our collective pursuit of global peace:



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For those of you who complain that not enough is written in Urdu about me, here's some detailed commentary over the recent past:



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Here is a copy of the FIR launched against Mahmood Ahmed Musafir and myself:



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 305 of 2019

2018hrs:

It is always disturbing to write so little when so much has happened. 

Even after almost 2 years of daily blogging I am still unable to accurately report my daily activity in proportionate measure.

I will keep on struggling.....till I succeed or die trying.

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Thank you Rangla, your residents swept me off my feet today:



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Kargil is an interesting part of the Jammu & Kashmir puzzle:



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We had similar resistance in Jammu city too, to India's formal announcement of downgrading and bifurcating its occupied part of Jammu & Kashmir:



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 267 of 2019

1851hrs:

Earlier this afternoon:

The earth has just shook heavily for almost a minute in Dadyaal......just a minute ago.......

AJ English were very quick in breaking the news worldwide:

No confirmation on any possible casualties from the earthquake in Mirpur, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, yet. Disaster management officials say reviewing reports of infrastructure damage, particularly to roads. All the latest on @AJEnglish here: https://t.co/XvHuY9BqNu

— Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) September 24, 2019

Just over 2 hours later:

#EarthquakeAlert, Pakistan's #Mirpur earthquake death Toll rises 19. With Over 300 injured, Says SSP Mirpur#EarthquakeInPakistan#earthquake pic.twitter.com/RjOwiri4gQ

— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) September 24, 2019

Mirpur, Jammu and Kashmir acknowledged by Facebook

Reflecting on what happened on a day which will be remembered as the 24th of September, the day of the Mirpur Earthquake:

It felt as if the earth underneath us suddenly transformed into sea waves...such was the vibration....

The death toll is going to continue to rise unfortunately, as are other losses.....it could be days before we can correctly assess the extent of damage.

It is comforting to notice so many people active on social media responding to relief and rehabilitation efforts so rapidly.

AJK has already received an unprecedented level of attention from global media in these past few weeks and now this happens...we thank humanity, our neighbours and global institutions for their continued attention.

List of the people who died and injured today in #earthquake #Mirpur #Jammu #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/F3uU8DxNhk

— #SaveRiverSaveMuzaffarabad (@khawajaatteeq) September 24, 2019

The use of the word Pakistan to describe disaster in AJK is a bit irksome, though we appreciate the attention and solidarity:

My condolences, on behalf of all of us at the British High Commission, to everyone affected by today’s earthquake in Pakistan. We are in close touch with the local authorities. https://t.co/aLIjxjTShb

— Thomas Drew (@TomDrewUK) September 24, 2019

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This issue has been heavily monitored by the people of Jammu & Kashmir over the past few days and further pinpoints the inability of the Pakistani State to advocate for J & K:

شاہ محمود اور عمران دونوں نے کہا کہ ہمارے پاس 50 سے زیادہ ممالک کی حمایت ہے اس کے باوجود 19 ستمبر تک قرارداد کیوں نہ پیش کی گئی جسکے لیے صرف 16 ووٹ درکار تھے؟؟#ImranKhanDoctrine pic.twitter.com/Be1I0MjkZL

— Engr AQ Khan (@aq263) September 23, 2019

The tweet is translated thus:

Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan both have said that we have the support of over 50 countries. Despite that, why could they (Pakistan) not submit a resolution on the 19th of September, for which they needed just 16 votes?

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