news details |
|
|
| Changing attitude of national media | | Amarnath Yatra & Refugees | | Neha
JAMMU, Aug 30: It is perhaps after several years that a leading media house came down heavily not only on Kashmiri separatists but also questioned the very political behaviour of what certain sections term as mainstream political parties, including National Conference (NC). It took on them saying their attitude towards the Amarnath pilgrims and refugees from West Pakistan and POJK is negative, hostile, and even inhuman. It editorially said that "opposition to providing basic amenities to Amarnath pilgrims carries a sinister ring". It was a severe indictment of them. As for the refugees, it said: Their (NC and PDP) failure to act (grant refugees what is rightfully due to them) by taking shelter under Article 370 is bound to invite the charge that they find it expedient to take recourse to softer versions of separatism". Indeed, a great comment. What the national daily of repute said editorially could be taken to mean that the attitude of important sections of national media towards what has been happening in Kashmir is undergoing a radical change and this augurs well for the future of the nation which at present is chaffing and seething with anger.
It would be in the fitness of things if what the leading national daily wrote under the caption "Shades Of Separatism" (TOI, Aug 29) is reproduced here verbatim. Positive contributions need to be recognized and appreciated. That is the way to fight out negative and perverted forces. It read: "Hell-bent on keeping alive the sense of victimhood in Kashmir, the separatist outfits in the Valley resort to a familiar stratagem: to detect and denounce in just about every step that the State or Union Government takes to address the concerns and interests of people a conspiracy to alter the demographic composition of J&K and erode Kashmiri identity. Their reactions to two recent developments are true to form. One relates to the Supreme Court's directive to the State Government to ensure that pilgrims participating in the annual Amarnath Yatra in ever-greater numbers do not suffer death or injury in avoidable accidents. This would involve a vast improvement of the poor State of the routes leading up to the shrine and the building of such infrastructure as is required to cater to the basic needs of the pilgrims. The opposition of the separatists is ostensibly rooted in the belief that any such move would damage the fragile ecosystem of the State but the communal accents are palpable. The State Government must therefore summon the nerve to set at rest doubts raised about the SC directive. It had set up two committees in the wake of the 2008 Amarnath yatra-related protests to examine this question. The outcome of their labours is not known. The sooner this is done the better to nip the mischief of the separatists in the bud".
"No less mischievous is their opposition to measures that are reportedly under consideration to grant basic civic rights to refugees from (West) Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied (-Jammu &) Kashmir who fled their homes after every India-Pakistan war and settled in the Jammu region. They include granting them access to education and Government jobs, the right to buy property and the relocation of those who live under the shadow of the Pakistani gun along the Line of Control to safer areas. But the separatist outfit led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani sees red in these humanitarian efforts as it does as regards the galloping numbers of pilgrims. Yet again it has raised the bogey of a conspiracy to alter the demographics in the 'disputed' State. This is paranoia. It is for the mainstream parties in the Valley - the NC and the PDP - to make common cause to grant the refugees what is rightfully due to them - including their political rights - without further ado. Their failure to act by taking shelter under Article 370 is bound to invite the charge that they find it expedient to take recourse to softer versions of separatism".
Will the separatists and so-called mainstream parties in the Valley take note of the changing attitude of national media towards them and do what is needed to be done to create adequate facilities for Amarnath pilgrims and enable refugees from West Pakistan to lead a dignified life and exercise all the rights which are available to the Indian nationals under the Indian Constitution? It is difficult to say that they will. The reason is that most of them survive and thrive by playing negative and communal politics, as also by advocating hatred for the things of Indian. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
