Across the Aisle: Grief, Anger but No Wisdom
In his column ‘Across the Aisle' in The Indian Express, P Chidambaram writes on the BJP government's reaction to the Pulwama attack, and its policy on Jammu and Kashmir. Noting the inception of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) after the release of Masood Azhar in 2000, Chidambaram writes how the number of local recruits to JeM are on the rise since 2015.
“After Pulwama, the government and the hyper-nationalists are erecting a demon to slay in the run-up to the elections. Even as they did that, traders and students from the Kashmir Valley were attacked in Jammu and other cities of India. Kashmiri students were thrown out of their hostels and chummeries. Stray posts on social media were seized upon as acts of treason. Strident calls were made to ban exports to Pakistan and bar sports engagements with that country. The governor of Meghalaya, sworn to uphold the Constitution, said, ‘Don’t visit Kashmir, don’t go to Amarnath, don’t buy articles from Kashmiri tradesmen who come every winter.’ These are unmistakable sounds of the drums of war.”
After Pulwama, Could 2019 See a Hot Summer?
In his column for the Hindustan Times, Karan Thapar analyses how the situation in Kashmir is steadly deteoriating. In Thapar's analysis, the rise in radicalisation of Kashmiri youth, the return of IED attacks after Pulwama, US' withdrawal in Afghanistan and Pakistan's role in US withdrawal of troops in the region are factors which could make the security situation in Kashmir worse.
“Let’s start by comparing the situation today, when the Modi government’s tenure is ending, with the situation in 2014, when it took over. As of December 2018, the number of terrorist incidents jumped nearly three-fold from 222 to 614 whilst the number of security personnel killed almost doubled from 47 to 91. During this period the number of bomb blasts a year has increased over 330% from 35 to 117. In fact, last year was in many senses the worst. The number of people killed in encounters and clashes hit 586, the highest in the last decade. The number of local Kashmiris joining militancy touched 191, an increase of 50% over the year before. Whilst the number of policemen killed by militant firing was 45, a 125% increase over 2017.”
How Adivasis Have Been Left to the Law of the Jungle
For The Times of India, Amulya Gopalakrishnan writes on the constitutional validity of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 being challenged in the Supreme Court and how the traditional land rights of lakhs of adivasis and forest dwellers is under threat.
“There are four tiers of committees to recognise and adjudicate forest rights claims, starting with the gram sabha –– so one rejection does not mean that they are encroachers. In the last decade, FRA implementation has been spotty, not just because of the documentation problem, but also because of a deeper hostility to the law, missing the point about the need it serves. All the FRA does is to acknowledge the historic injustice forest dwellers experienced over their own land and resources, and try to make some amends. But right from its conception, the Forest Rights Act had dedicated powerful adversaries — the forest bureaucracy, and a section of elite, anti-democratic conservationists. The difficulties in implementing the law are not just operational, they arise because of the interests that the law has undercut.”
Out of My Mind: Our Urgent Need
In his column 'Out of My Mind' in The Indian Express, Meghnad Desai writes on what he perceives to be 'passivity' in India's military strategy. He writes that India needs an effective counter-terrorism machinery to deal with an external threat and that the country needs to be “smart, tough and prepared to be secure.”
“This passivity is not just in the case of terrorist attacks. In the four encounters between the armies of Pakistan and India, except for 1971, the first move was by Pakistan — 1948, 1965 and Kargil. In 1965, Shastri changed the game by the counter-attack across the Punjab border. That apart, each time India was surprised. It is time to ask whether this passivity is ingrained in the culture of the Army or the security forces or is it a political problem which makes the civilian authorities too cautious in giving the armed forces their lead.”
Stick to Political Theatre, It Is Safer Than Risking War with Pak
Writing for The Times of India, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar calls surgical strikes a "political theatre" which have historically proven to be ineffective to stem terrorism in India. From the viewpoint of the aftermath of Pulwama attacks, Aiyar analyses the potential impact of a surgical strike and the political effect it would have on PM Modi.
“Once the euphoria abated, events soon proved that the surgical strikes were a strategic flop. They failed to check terrorism or Pakistani support for it. Insurgency-related fatalities in Kashmir actually went up from 267 in 2016 to 358 in 2017, and estimated infiltrations from 371 to 406. Civilian deaths increased by 166%. Now, the Pulwama attack proves that the surgical strikes have not deterred future attacks.”
The Two Faces of Winston Churchill
Writing on the controversy on Churchill's actions in Britain earlier this month, Ramchandra Guha makes a case in Hindustan Times against Churchill's injustices towards India and his distaste for the country through a recently acquired document on the British Parliament's Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms.
“In this note, Churchill set out to combat this mischief, to make it clear that in his eyes, at any rate, British rule in India must continue indefinitely into the future. He complained that “the term ‘Dominion Status’ has been used so loosely as to cause harmful misunderstandings.” Churchill wrote that it is “wrong for the high servants of the Crown, whether Ministers, Viceroys, or Governors, to use this phrase or to hold out hopes based upon it, unless they see their way to its practical realisation within some period of time to which living men can reasonably look forward. If they have ideas that India may become a self-governing dominion like Canada or Australia within one hundred or two hundred years, and that is all they mean by it, they ought not to use such a phrase without also explaining that it cannot be achieved in any period which men can foresee.”
Why Vande Bharat Express Is Good for India
Writing for the Hindustan Times, Mark Tully writes that the new Vande Bharat Express is a step towards modernisation for the Indian Railways, specifically with an option for a comfortable train which could compete with air travel.
“Some may think that the Vande Bharat Express is further evidence of India’s elitism. Why, it might be argued, should the railways use their resources to provide luxury travel which most Indians can’t afford? The fare is well above Shatabdi’s, which are already beyond the means of many Indians. But I believe it is important for the railways to attract comparatively prosperous passengers because they are the people who have influence, and play a crucial role in preventing the railways from suffering the neglect other South Asian railways have suffered. They are also the drivers of development as the Vande Bharat demonstrates.”
Gained in Translation: Enchantment Called Banaras
In The Indian Express column ‘Gained in Translation,’ poet, translator and theatre activist Vyomesh Shukla writes on what compelled him to move from JNU in Delhi to Varanasi, and how in the city the "burden of history" shadows you wherever you go.
“Living in Banaras is being in the midst of a confluence between the infinite (anant) and the path of tradition (sanathan) and no art is possible without these elements. Without this confluence, art is bound to the moment, its breath is brief and its sounds do not echo among the great domes. Yes, a momentary excitement, or tinge of nostalgia is possible, but true sublime joy is not. And without that joy, is it even art?”
Kashmiris, Turn off Jingoist TV. Let’s Fight the Enemy Together
In The Times of India, Sagarika Ghose writes a letter to Kashmiris after the Pulwama attack, asking them to recognise the signs of friendship in India amid the violence and alienation. She also appeals to them, in her letter, to ignore politicians who are “playing politics over loss of life.”
“Don’t form judgements only on the basis of TV headlines and social media chatter. Media outlets and majoritarian nationalists don’t just demonise you, they demonise everybody who dissents, from Amartya Sen to Nayantara Sahgal to Kanhaiya Kumar. You are not alone. But the onus is on you too. You need to be clear-sighted about those who have used the Kashmir conflict for their own ends — separatists, militant groups, Pakistan, even some Valley-based netas. Are they trying to keep you trapped in fear and victimhood instead of liberating you from the burdens of the past, and recognising how many Indians in the rest of India are accepting of you?”
More From The Quint:
Why the BJP-Sena Deal in Maharashtra is Bitter, Yet Necessary
Covering Pulwama Attack: Has the Indian Media Acted Responsibly?
What Does the Return of IED Attacks in Kashmir Mean for the Army?
For Pulwama Martyrs’ Sake, Congress Needs to Question Modi Govt
Diplomacy Is About Knowing What You Can Expect & What You Can’t
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)