The Blanket of freedom

Nineteen-year old Mahammad Maqbool Dar was taken away by troops from his home near Charar-e-Sharief on Friday, his mother Hanifa Begum said. A day later, the boy, a daily wage labourer, was brought dead to a hospital sparking two days of protests in Charar-e-Sharief as anger continues in other parts of Kashmir.The government, concerned at a possible backlash ordered a magisterial enquiry and asked the army to take action against the guilty.

Earlier this month in Anantnag two civilians were killed by the army. No punishment for the army, which said, it was mistaken identity.

In September in Kupwara a girl and her uncle were killed - again no punishment, but a colonel in-charge of operations there was removed for inefficient command.

In February, four boys playing cricket in Handwara were killed by the army. A judicial inquiry has just begun.

Source : NDTV , Oct 23 2006

A team of doctors who performed autopsy of Maqbool at Charari Sharif Hospital on Saturday told Greater Kashmir that “he died due to cardiac arrest caused by extensive torture and multiple burns. His private parts had been damaged.”

Source : Greater Kashmir




Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Col Jessep , A Few Good Men




Terrorists intruded into the house of Sohan Lal Braroo and shot him dead during the night. They gang raped his wife Bimla and young daughter Archana. Archana succumbed during the gang rape itself and Bimla who was shot after being raped, died in hospital.

Naisarak, Srinagar - March '92

Early Monday, Hindu villagers were herded into the home of the village chief where gunmen started firing indiscriminately, according to S.P. Vaid, inspector-general of police in Jammu.35 civilians have lost their lives. Source : CNN

Doda,Srinagar - May 2006

Near two decades of violence, death and atrocities in Kashmir. Isn't it time that the insurgents realize they are fighting for a cause lost somewhere in the cacophony of interests in the valley, and what happened to the Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan's promise on zero-tolerance towards human rights violations in Kashmir. Its not that we are undermining a struggle gone terribly ugly or disrespecting the brave men of India who defend our freedom, but

Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth.
Col. Jessep: You can't handle the truth.

A Few Good Men - the movie

Dead man Walking - Afzal Guru

If the collective conscience of a nation becomes satisfied when one of us gets hanged without a chance to defend himself , it speaks a lot about ourselves.









Afzal Guru




Will Afzal Guru be hanged today ? He should be - says the great Indian middle class and its drum beater the Indian media. The mercy petition filed by his family - though he has not asked for mercy - is now in the hands of the President of India pending reference from the home ministry.


So are we ready to kill Afzal Guru for the December 13 2001 attack on the Parliament of India. Are we ready to ready to put the last nail in the coffin of popular resistance in Kashmir and terrorism in India. Yes we are as the euphoria clearly suggests.

The Supreme Court verdict says “The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, had shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender.”

The question is who is the offender here ? Who perpeterated the crime - who did it ? Who investigated it ? Did this person whom the holy republic of India is about to collectively murder for the sheer xenophobic patriotic orgasm of it get a chance to defend himself.

Afzal Guru was not part of the attack - he surely was a sympathiser to the Kashmir cause, was aware of the attack and as the prosecution put it - did indirect favours to the terrorists. Is this reason enough for hanging him till death ?

Afzal Guru continues to maintain that he is being framed in this case - but all criminals say so - but the question is who investigated the case ? Oh our Delhi Police - they are renowned for their integrity and honesty and was recommended for the prestigious Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo award for Justice. Then it must be correct and moreover not a single soul will come on the streets of Rajpath with lighted candles seeking justice for Afzal Guru.

And here is the best part - Afzal Guru was not given a chance to defend himself ! The Indian nation is about to hang a helpless person until he dies without giving him a chance to defend himself. We are not China,not Pakistan but we are very close to it.

There are clear indications that the Kashmir Valley will erupt in flames if Afzal is killed, fresh violence and insurgency could be the outcome. But do we - the great Indian middle class really care ? No we dont care about Kashmir, violence in Kashmir - state sponsored and otherwise has ceased to produce those necessary bowel movements for us these days, we skip that part of the newspaper in the morning. Kashmir resides in our collective amnesia. India has its largest military presence in J and K and we are safe - we can discuss about Iraq and North Korea and Bush while the valley of Gods burns its heart out in this conspiracy of nations.

On a selfish note, what do we gain ?

Will killing Afzal Guru stop the freedom movement in Kashmir ? No, but it will be a lesson to all those people out there on how tough we are. Like the British did in 1931, they hanged one Bhagat Singh from Punjab for attacking their assembly house and we Indians got so terrified that we stuck our tails in the cute space between our legs and ran home. We never asked for independence after that.

Do we need to confer martydom on Afzal Guru and make him a hero for certain causes we dont identify with ?

If the President of India decides to pardon Afzal Guru - what impact will it have on the Kashmiris. Will it be a graceful decision, a beautiful decision - its all yours to gauge. I think so.


Now if the Indian nation wants his blood despite all this ,what does it speak about us as a nation. If the collective conscience of a nation becomes satisfied when one of us gets hanged without a chance to defend himself , it speaks a lot about ourselves.



The founding fathers of our nation did not envision us to stand for wealth or power or religion. They envisioned a nation on this earth that stands for Truth. As the lion-head correctly reads - "Satyameva Jayathe" . Let us be well aware on which side of truth we are.