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[QT: INTEGRAL PART]
1/15
Something I wrote on FB the day after Pulwama (just showed up in memories):
An ungodly amount of military-grade RDX spends hours in a vehicle cruising on the wrong side of one of the most heavily militarized highways on the subcontinent, perhaps world.
1/15
Something I wrote on FB the day after Pulwama (just showed up in memories):
An ungodly amount of military-grade RDX spends hours in a vehicle cruising on the wrong side of one of the most heavily militarized highways on the subcontinent, perhaps world.
2/15
The man (man, not men) at the wheels is affiliated with a foreign terror outfit, but is himself a local. The convoy being targeted is not a couple of police cars but a 78-vehicle armed juggernaut.
And all of this, less than 13 miles from the capital?
The man (man, not men) at the wheels is affiliated with a foreign terror outfit, but is himself a local. The convoy being targeted is not a couple of police cars but a 78-vehicle armed juggernaut.
And all of this, less than 13 miles from the capital?
3/15
Think pulling off a stunt like this on foreign soil with this confidence would be a bed of roses? Sure, in Bombay. But in Kashmir? Think you could so much as sneeze in a place like that without help? Who are we talking about — Satan?
Think pulling off a stunt like this on foreign soil with this confidence would be a bed of roses? Sure, in Bombay. But in Kashmir? Think you could so much as sneeze in a place like that without help? Who are we talking about — Satan?
4/15
You'd do well to square off with something most fundamental about terrorism: It cannot thrive, at least not indefinitely, without support. Material support, but more than that moral support. Support of non-actors, the locals, the civilians.
You'd do well to square off with something most fundamental about terrorism: It cannot thrive, at least not indefinitely, without support. Material support, but more than that moral support. Support of non-actors, the locals, the civilians.
5/15
The sheer amount of brawn, ammunition, and money India injects into this region alone, on a daily basis, there's no terror outfit on God's rotten Earth that could stand its ground beyond a week before it's crushed into nothingness.
And yet here we are.
The sheer amount of brawn, ammunition, and money India injects into this region alone, on a daily basis, there's no terror outfit on God's rotten Earth that could stand its ground beyond a week before it's crushed into nothingness.
And yet here we are.
6/15
That's because they have more than just bombs. They have Kashmir's pulse under their thumb. They have the people's heart. There's not one neighborhood in the valley that hasn't lost someone to institutional excesses, excesses with a business-like meticulousness.
That's because they have more than just bombs. They have Kashmir's pulse under their thumb. They have the people's heart. There's not one neighborhood in the valley that hasn't lost someone to institutional excesses, excesses with a business-like meticulousness.
7/15
Countless families have lost everything from loved ones to limbs to non-stakeholders' debauched sense of entitlement. Non-stakeholders sitting thousands of miles away. I say this because I know one such family personally.
They have no jobs, they have no economy.
Countless families have lost everything from loved ones to limbs to non-stakeholders' debauched sense of entitlement. Non-stakeholders sitting thousands of miles away. I say this because I know one such family personally.
They have no jobs, they have no economy.
8/15
Sure, there's tourism but good luck making it work with those whimsical curfews, lockdowns, and carefree target-practice. Maimed in their own state, ostracized outside.
Good luck making anything work with such a harebrained approach to fixing things, if at all.
Sure, there's tourism but good luck making it work with those whimsical curfews, lockdowns, and carefree target-practice. Maimed in their own state, ostracized outside.
Good luck making anything work with such a harebrained approach to fixing things, if at all.
9/15
My kashmiri friend once spent an entire month sleeping in company sick-rooms because nobody would rent him an apartment. You don't want to live next to them and then wonder why they ghettoize. Be real, aren't you secretly glad they ghettoize? Away from your holy existence?
My kashmiri friend once spent an entire month sleeping in company sick-rooms because nobody would rent him an apartment. You don't want to live next to them and then wonder why they ghettoize. Be real, aren't you secretly glad they ghettoize? Away from your holy existence?
10/15
The militancy offers them what they need the most in life. A purpose. An ear to their resentment. And at least a pretense of dignity. To someone with nothing left to lose, these matter more than money. Or life.
False hope, but hope. It's their "achhe din."
The militancy offers them what they need the most in life. A purpose. An ear to their resentment. And at least a pretense of dignity. To someone with nothing left to lose, these matter more than money. Or life.
False hope, but hope. It's their "achhe din."
11/15
And that's why you don't go all Rambo on them and hope they'll vanish. Terrorism thrives on resentment. And your jingoism fuels that resentment. You could pour in all the resources at your disposal into your military and yet it'll carry on in carefree abandon.
And that's why you don't go all Rambo on them and hope they'll vanish. Terrorism thrives on resentment. And your jingoism fuels that resentment. You could pour in all the resources at your disposal into your military and yet it'll carry on in carefree abandon.
12/15
That's not because Pakistan or Jaish hate you. That's because Kashmir hates you.
And why Kashmir hates you is for you to figure out.
Integral part? Well, treat it as one, dammit. It's a state, not an imperial colony.
That's not because Pakistan or Jaish hate you. That's because Kashmir hates you.
And why Kashmir hates you is for you to figure out.
Integral part? Well, treat it as one, dammit. It's a state, not an imperial colony.
13/15
Give it the respect it's entitled to as an 'integral' part and see how long terrorism endures. You alienated them all this while and it didn't work, try institutionalizing them for a change. Make them feel welcome in their own country. Like, you know, citizens.
Give it the respect it's entitled to as an 'integral' part and see how long terrorism endures. You alienated them all this while and it didn't work, try institutionalizing them for a change. Make them feel welcome in their own country. Like, you know, citizens.
14/15
And for goodness' sake, stop treating international diplomacy like schoolyard lunch-money rivalries. A little maturity will go a long way here.
— End —
Much water has flowed under the seven bridges of Srinagar since this writing. Have things gotten any better?
And for goodness' sake, stop treating international diplomacy like schoolyard lunch-money rivalries. A little maturity will go a long way here.
— End —
Much water has flowed under the seven bridges of Srinagar since this writing. Have things gotten any better?
15/15
Internet shutdown, Abrogation, political detentions...
The state remains a profile on hopelessness as the rest of the country scrambles to follow suit. How many of you had as kids imagined this India two decades into the 21st century?
I hadn't.
Internet shutdown, Abrogation, political detentions...
The state remains a profile on hopelessness as the rest of the country scrambles to follow suit. How many of you had as kids imagined this India two decades into the 21st century?
I hadn't.
