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Asia View: A Most Unwelcome Tricolour

Elmo

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Jan 31, 2009
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The Economist
A most unwelcome tricolour

Jan 25th 2011, 13:15 by A.R. | DELHI


WHAT are the leaders of India’s main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), trying to achieve in Kashmir? Shortly before January 26th, India’s Republic Day, a moment for military parades and celebrating the establishment of the independent country’s constitution, some of the BJP’s leaders tried to score political points by marching to Kashmir, the disputed territory on the northern border with Pakistan.

For weeks the BJP had been vowing to raise the Indian tricolour in the centre of Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Despite warnings that, by doing so, they could provoke mass protests, counter-demonstrations and possibly renewed violence, the BJP persisted, calling theirs a “nationalist” campaign and accusing the Congress-led government in Delhi (and, by extension, the government of Kashmir) of “appeasing” separatists and committing “psychological surrender”.

The BJP’s leaders were stopped before they could unfurl the national flag. A few nights before Republic Day, a trainload of 2,000 of the party’s activists, which had been chugging north from Karnataka state towards Kashmir, was quietly turned around by officials as it passed through Maharashtra state, and sent south again. A clutch of BJP leaders who managed to fly to Kashmir were arrested on arrival. A group of the party’s activists did manage to block roads and batter a minister’s car.

The BJP claims it was attempting nothing controversial. Kashmir is a part of India, so why not ensure that the Indian flag is raised there? The answer—as even the most nationalist provocateur knows—is that Kashmiris, the majority of whom are Muslim, have long disputed India’s right to rule over the territory. In 2010, stone-throwing youths launched mass protests in Srinagar, and separatist leaders called strikes, earning a violent response from ill-trained police. Over 110 Kashmiris were killed.

Almost nobody, not even Kashmiris, sees any prospect of winning independence from India, let alone joining their territory to Pakistan. So the real contest is over how much autonomy Kashmir can win for itself within India, and, in the short term, how to get Indian soldiers and police (which are too often responsible for repression and torture) to behave better. As important, for India’s sake as a whole, and in particular for Kashmir, is the need to discourage the rise of Islamic extremism in the territory.

In the past few weeks India’s government has made some encouraging noises. This month it announced its ambition to cut, by 25%, the number of soldiers deployed in Kashmir (it is unclear how many are there in the first place, but activists tend to put the number at a gobsmacking 500,000). The police are being retrained. Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Kashmir, says he wants a repressive “special powers” law lifted. In return, some Kashmiri leaders have begun to admit to past wrongs of their own, notably conceding that some assassinations of separatist leaders were carried out by rival factions of their fellows, and not by Indian authorities.

Just as limited progress is being made—with Mr Abdullah saying that the priority is to avoid a repeat of the 2010 riots and bloodshed—the BJP is trying to stoke up nationalist fervour for its own party-political ends. As a tactic to raise its profile and popularity among (mostly Hindu) voters in other parts of India, it may possibly work. Its leaders reckon that portraying Congress as weak on this issue could complement a successful campaign that is currently painting Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, as weak on corruption. But the BJP’s move looks cynical and may make it harder to avoid another round of protests and killings in 2011.

Indian nationalism in Kashmir: A most unwelcome tricolour | The Economist
 
this - was such a bollywood drama.

where everybody tried to gain some vote bank at the cost of peace in the region.

---sepratists tried to be big mouth : with we will see which flag will hoist ::::result crpf did erect the indian flag.

congress : we want peace so we wont allow the bjp to go to lal chowk: :::::result media was with bjp so they lost some vote bank.

bjp : they wanted to hoist the flag at lal chowk :::::: but we all know the end result they got pawned.

omar : nobody give a damn about him :
 
The Economist
A most unwelcome tricolour

Jan 25th 2011, 13:15 by A.R. | DELHI


WHAT are the leaders of India’s main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), trying to achieve in Kashmir? Shortly before January 26th, India’s Republic Day, a moment for military parades and celebrating the establishment of the independent country’s constitution, some of the BJP’s leaders tried to score political points by marching to Kashmir, the disputed territory on the northern border with Pakistan.

For weeks the BJP had been vowing to raise the Indian tricolour in the centre of Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Despite warnings that, by doing so, they could provoke mass protests, counter-demonstrations and possibly renewed violence, the BJP persisted, calling theirs a “nationalist” campaign and accusing the Congress-led government in Delhi (and, by extension, the government of Kashmir) of “appeasing” separatists and committing “psychological surrender”.

The BJP’s leaders were stopped before they could unfurl the national flag. A few nights before Republic Day, a trainload of 2,000 of the party’s activists, which had been chugging north from Karnataka state towards Kashmir, was quietly turned around by officials as it passed through Maharashtra state, and sent south again. A clutch of BJP leaders who managed to fly to Kashmir were arrested on arrival. A group of the party’s activists did manage to block roads and batter a minister’s car.

The BJP claims it was attempting nothing controversial. Kashmir is a part of India, so why not ensure that the Indian flag is raised there? The answer—as even the most nationalist provocateur knows—is that Kashmiris, the majority of whom are Muslim, have long disputed India’s right to rule over the territory. In 2010, stone-throwing youths launched mass protests in Srinagar, and separatist leaders called strikes, earning a violent response from ill-trained police. Over 110 Kashmiris were killed.

Almost nobody, not even Kashmiris, sees any prospect of winning independence from India, let alone joining their territory to Pakistan. So the real contest is over how much autonomy Kashmir can win for itself within India, and, in the short term, how to get Indian soldiers and police (which are too often responsible for repression and torture) to behave better. As important, for India’s sake as a whole, and in particular for Kashmir, is the need to discourage the rise of Islamic extremism in the territory.

In the past few weeks India’s government has made some encouraging noises. This month it announced its ambition to cut, by 25%, the number of soldiers deployed in Kashmir (it is unclear how many are there in the first place, but activists tend to put the number at a gobsmacking 500,000). The police are being retrained. Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Kashmir, says he wants a repressive “special powers” law lifted. In return, some Kashmiri leaders have begun to admit to past wrongs of their own, notably conceding that some assassinations of separatist leaders were carried out by rival factions of their fellows, and not by Indian authorities.

Just as limited progress is being made—with Mr Abdullah saying that the priority is to avoid a repeat of the 2010 riots and bloodshed—the BJP is trying to stoke up nationalist fervour for its own party-political ends. As a tactic to raise its profile and popularity among (mostly Hindu) voters in other parts of India, it may possibly work. Its leaders reckon that portraying Congress as weak on this issue could complement a successful campaign that is currently painting Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, as weak on corruption. But the BJP’s move looks cynical and may make it harder to avoid another round of protests and killings in 2011.

Indian nationalism in Kashmir: A most unwelcome tricolour | The Economist

The first colored part is something not needed in the article.

While the next colored part is down right propaganda, the PM is weak there is no need to show him weak specifically.

Other than this the article raises valid points and we should note that all political parties try to play for their audience.
 
Indian flag cannot flying in some so-called "integral part" of india..and in India theory, they are scared of few dozen ISI backed protestors..either the Indians are too delusional in their lies or ISI is a supernatural organisation which can keep hundreds thousands engaged in protest for 63 years..either case its time for a wakeup call..Kashmir is not India.
 
Indian flag cannot flying in some so-called "integral part" of india..and in India theory, they are scared of few dozen ISI backed protestors..either the Indians are too delusional in their lies or ISI is a supernatural organisation which can keep hundreds thousands engaged in protest for 63 years..either case its time for a wakeup call..Kashmir is not India.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110126/1675671.html

the flag was hoisted .

but not by radical BJP.
 
The entire Lal Chowk area has been sealed from all sides and even mediapersons were not allowed to go there.

However, CRPF, as announced earlier, hoisted the national flag at 0800 hrs on Palladium post at Lal Chowk.


After sealing the whole area so it became a no mans land..some bravery that is!:chilli:

SO YOU MUST BE AMERICAN. because if you were a paksitani or indian you wont like to see a bunch of kashmiri die .....

we all know what would have happned if whole bjp was thr with sepratists.

- the law and order have to be taken care of - mob is just crazy.
 
The entire Lal Chowk area has been sealed from all sides and even mediapersons were not allowed to go there.

However, CRPF, as announced earlier, hoisted the national flag at 0800 hrs on Palladium post at Lal Chowk.


After sealing the whole area so it became a no mans land..some bravery that is!:chilli:

Bravery?No intelligence,cuz if they dont seal the area,the separatists would have come in,then the CRPF would have to fire then some would die and then some idiots like you would curse the CRPF with all your force.
And now that they sealed the area,preventing violence you make fun of them.
Hypocrisy!
It tells that you have no sympathy/love for Kashmiris,but only and only hatred for India.
 
ya...........now you pakistanis can continue with your whining........
but alas nothing is gonna change in the ground.......
Tricolour will continue to float in Jammu & Kashmir
 

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