Kashmir from the Left

The recent verbal pugilism by India and Pakistan at the United Nations reminded this reporter of a “Discussion Forum on Kashmir” held in San Francisco at the end of last month. Others have reported and commented on that event which was held at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco on August 22nd so this report is not exactly on time, but the ferocity of the exchange at the UN has certainly encouraged a revisiting this issue through that discussion.

Organized by the People for Peace in Kashmir and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Program at CIIS, San Francisco and supported by the Friends of South Asia (FOSA) organization, this was an attempt by the “Progressives”, the leftovers of the South Asian Left in Northern California (sorry to offend some people but that is what we are) to see what could be done about this historical problem so that our dream of reconciliation between India and Pakistan could be realized, hopefully within our lifetimes.

Featuring two main speakers Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai of the Kashmiri American Council and Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy of Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan, and very ably assisted by three knowledgeable people namely Zulfiqar Ahmad of the Global Peace and Security Program at the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in Berkeley, Dr. Angana Chatterji Professor, Social and Cultural Anthropology Program at CIIS and Kashmir Researcher and community activist Akhila Raman. This report will concentrate on Dr. Fai and Dr. Hoodbhoy’s presentations.

Mr. Zulfikar Ahmad is the nephew of the late Dr. Eqbal Ahmad, one of the icons of the Pakistani and American Left who left quite a mark on Progressive Activism worldwide. And with that comment one needs to add that one of Dr. Eqbal’s contemporaries and admirers and the major spokesman for the Palestinian struggle in the western world Dr. Edward Said has just passed away. One cannot ignore this huge loss for progressives worldwide without acknowledging his huge contribution to the struggle of the powerless. Dr. Said was one Christian who did more to explain Islam and its culture to the West then many of our bearded brethren.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai is no stranger to us. His effort at highlighting the plight of Kashmiris here in the United States has been going on for a long time. Whether it is on a TV, in a Mosque, a Library or a gathering of progressives or just concerned citizens, Dr. Fai has been the Kashmiri version of Edward Said to his people. Through thick and thin he has been a spokesman for the All Parties Hurriyet (Freedom) Conference (APHC) a group that has been at the helm of the Kashmiri peoples struggle against the Government of India which it views as an occupying power. Let us begin with his speech.

“We are not against India and Pakistan talking bilaterally. They have been talking for 55 years. I was the happiest person when P.M. Vajpayee made the offer to Pakistan,” he said. But on the talks he said that they have to provide results because all talks thus far have failed. But he ruled our “doing nothing” as an alternative because that will only make the Kashmir problem worse. He ruled out the idea of the current Line of Control (LOC) becoming the future border between India and Pakistan or that autonomy alone could become the final compromise. But he did add that “all parties need to understand that there is no military solution to the Kashmir problem,” because Kashmir is a political issue that needs a solution via political means. On talks he first called for an Intra- Kashmir dialogue which included all Kashmiris on either side of the LOC. He then called for talks between the APHC and India and then talks between India and Pakistan. He stressed the need for non-violent means, but in future talks “there must be no pre-conditions,” he said. “We should not concentrate at this point on the final solution,” he added. He said that a broker like Nelson Mandela could help facilitate these talks and mentioned the Irish peace process as something to look at. He concluded by saying that a solution without taking into account the Kashmiris would not work.

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy is possibly the oddest physicist that currently lives in Pakistan. His writes under the header of “Particle Politics” for the webzine http//www.chowk.com and in various newspapers, magazines and journals both in Pakistan and internationally. And the most interesting part to all this is that he appeals to peaceniks worldwide and is horrified by and very critical of any nuclear brinksmanship in South Asia. He is a major proponent of increased spending on social programs and the reduction of defense expenditures in Pakistan and has been very critical of the rising military tensions in the region. He is also related by marriage into Dr. Eqbal Ahmad’s family which may or may not have something to with his social activism (one would have to ask Mrs. Hoodbhoy that question).

Dr. Hoobhoy started off by saying how wonderful it was to have such diversity gathered here. He then spoke of the horrors which are a part and parcel of the Kashmir problem today where an average of 12 to 14 people a day are being killed and the casualty figure already has reached the 70,000 mark. He described this as a long lingering dispute almost as old as the Israeli-Palestinian problem. He said that he was “pessimistic” and questioned the reasons behind this conflict. Approaching this issue from a very philosophical angle Pervez spoke of “versions of reality” and especially where they reach mythical realm. He gave examples of the current reality by quoting from the Pakistani Press; “Freedom Fighters kill 7 Hindu pilgrims.” He added that there was “very little sympathy in Pakistan for the Pandits who had to flee Kashmir. He spoke of the Kashmiri plight and that there was very little sympathy in India for the tens of thousands of Muslims pushed by conflict into the Pakistani side of Kashmir. He said that 3000 people (mainly Muslims) have been kidnapped by the Indian security forces. “Where they are nobody knows,” he said. He said that India was acting like an occupying power in Kashmir with one soldier present there for every ten Kashmiris. “There is a new generation of Kashmiri children who have grown up under the shadow of the gun,” he lamented. He said that the local Kashmiri population did not like the Indian soldiers and is intimidated by the militants. He added that today’s grand mess has historical roots in the division of the subcontinent on the basis of religion. “Under the rules of Partition, Kashmir should have been part of Pakistan.” He went into the complexities added to the mix by Sheikh Abdullah and that India reneged on a settlement because Pakistan did not fulfill its part of the bargain. He said that after the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan the issue had died down but that India’s mismanagement has resulted in the present conditions and this was nurtured by Pakistan (which today is not doing the Kashmiris any good) and that Pakistan has had to pay a huge social cost for this support of the militancy. He said that Pakistan was losing international support and sympathy because of the extremism within. He said that peaceful political and moral support should be provided to the Kashmiris but not any other kind. He spoke of the privileges and influence enjoyed by the Army in Pakistan which would not really be possible without this conflict with India over Kashmir but the Army itself did not want a war with nuclear implications on its hands. He said that Kashmir was a core issue as it was also a corps commander’s issue. He added that neither India nor Pakistan are any closer to peace today and that the first thing that needs to be done is to tone down the propaganda volume on both sides, He spoke of the 30 odd solutions proposed already by reasonable people but that to implement any of those a “spirit of accommodation was absolutely essential.”

Akhila Raman presented a number of slides and a whole lot of information on the Kashmir conflict. She called for a compromise solution that can work but will have to be beyond the stated positions of India and Pakistan. With valuable comments and input from Dr. Angana Chatterji and a unique humanitarian insight from Zulfiqar Ahmad the Question and Answer session afterwards did not turn into a shouting match that might have turned out to be too chaotic to manage All viewpoints were heard and the Kashmiri Pandit voice of concern and plight was heard loud and clear.

In conclusion it was refreshing to see the progressive viewpoint heard from Pakistan and the voice of both Muslim and Hindu Kashmiris at this discussion. That progressive Indians and Indian-Americans organized this interaction needs to be welcomed. And while we the people of South Asian origin in the United States recognize the suffering caused by this conflict to all three parties involved (Indian, Kashmiri and Pakistani) and yet still refuse to budge from our misguided notions and positions let me end here with the words of wisdom presented by the panelist that otherwise said the least at this discussion. “Challenge yourself to dream a little.”