Criminality at its worst, editorial Kashmir Images
http://www.dailykashmirimages.com/news-criminality-at-its-worst-28290.aspx
It is extremely painful to see the valley of saints dipping into the abysmal depths of criminality. The extent of criminalization of the Kashmiri society can be gauged by just perusing the news pages of the local newspapers. Only yesterday three heart wrenching incidents happened that tell it all. A five year old girl child was raped by a teenager in Budgam district. The ill- fated girl is undergoing treatment in a hospital where she gazes at everyone as if all the elders of this society are criminals and scoundrels. In second incident, in a remote village of the same district, a man, his wife and his aged mother were all paraded naked and forced to walk the entire village before the village Sarpanch urinated at him. In yet another shameful act, a father killed his son over a petty land dispute.
Three heinous crimes on a single day manifest the waywardness and lawlessness in the paradise on earth! Equally shameful and dastardly is the reaction of the society towards such inhuman incidents. People watch and see all this without actively trying to arrest the delinquent trend that has almost devoured the society. Our elders do not get tired of the ethics that Kashmiris posses but on the streets there is some other things that are happening in the broad daylight and which bring notoriety to the nation. The law and order machinery has almost lost its gear to control the criminalization of society by letting the culprits roam scot free for trivial pecuniary interests. Had there been any deterrent, the whole society would not have been helplessly watching all the obnoxious things. The civil society unites only on the petty issues like reservation of seats in the mini buses and like that leaving the all important issues untouched, deliberately or otherwise. The central theme of all the activities by the civil society, if there is any of that in real sense, is their own publicity to gain some sort of mileage. The religious leaders are involved in the discussions which made Muslims leave Spain in the most disgraceful manner after ruling the south European country for several centuries. They are using the religion just to alleviate their status in the society so that they can call the shots. Only few days ago one such discussion was to be organized in Anantnag where rival factions were to debate as to which of them followed the true path of Islam. How pity is that! The so called leaders and claimants of virtuous lineage also are busy in asserting Pidram Sultan Bowad and have left the nation to wander in the darkness of faithlessness and criminality.
For quite some time Kashmir needed a strong social reformation movement but the intervention of and hijacking by the vested interest has made it a distant dream. It is not that this land is devoid of good and God fearing people, but the stage has been set in such a manner that the truth speaking has become almost impossible in the present circumstances unless some daredevilry in brought into action. The only remedy to rid the society of the criminality is to take the present crop of religious, societal and political leadership head on and discard them like the used tissue papers. The nations prosper by having best leaders and guides but here the present lot has failed and it is time for them to quit and leave space for the younger generation which will choose the pious among themselves for leadership. In present scenario, no leader can claim to be on the offside of exploitative politics or gimmickry. The hypocrite lot is all responsible for the current rot in the society. Similarly, people have to start mob justice for those matters that demand immediate treatment as put forward by first woman IPS officer Kiran Badi some years ago. She had said that people must act at their own when a woman’s chastity is tarnished. Had people acted in the same manner at Budgam, the innocent girl child would not lift complaining gazes at every Kashmiri man. Had masses shown bravery, the culprit Sarpanch would have been torn to pieces while parading a man and two women naked. It is time to act or else time is running against us.
About K4Kashmir
PROFILE OF Dr SHABIR CHOUDHRY
Dr Shabir Choudhry was born in Nakker Shamali (near Panjeri) in District Bhimber, Azad Kashmir. He went to UK in 1966, and holds a dual nationality.
Dr Shabir Choudhry has done extensive research on the issue of Kashmir and Indo Pakistan relations. He passed BA Honours in Politics and History, and Mphil in International Relations (title of the thesis, ‘Kashmir and Partition of India’); and title of his PhD thesis is ‘Kashmir- An issue of a nation not a dispute of a land’.
Apart from this Dr Shabir Choudhry passed Post Graduates Certificates in Education, and NVQ Assessor’s qualifications; and taught English in London.
Political Achievements
Founder member of JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front established in 1977) and got elected as a Press Secretary in 1984.
• Became its Secretary General in 1985, and resigned from this post in 1996.
• Got elected President of JKLF and Europe in May 1999, and decided not to contest in elections of July 2001.
• Said good - bye to the JKLF as it is in many groups and is largely seen as advancing a Pakistani agenda on Kashmir dispute, and set up a new party Kashmir National Party in May 2008.
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At present, he is:
• Spokesman Kashmir National Party and Director Diplomatic Committee;
• Founder member and Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs;
Previously
• A founder Member and Trustee/ Director of London based registered charity, Kashmir Foundation International and resigned from this position in August 2001.
• Regularly take part in the Sessions of the UN Human Rights (Commission) now Council in Geneva; and address various conferences and seminars to oppose violence and highlight the Kashmir cause.
• Have addressed dozens of seminars and conferences in the British Parliament, European Parliament and other important capitals of the world on issue of Kashmir, violence and terrorism.
• Addressed as a key note speaker in a Conference at New Delhi arranged by Jawahar Lal Nehru University.
• Participated in a Round Table Conference on Kashmir, organised by Socialist Group of European Parliament in Brussels in 1993.
• Addressed as a Chief Guest in a seminar on issue of Mangla Dam during the UN Sub Commission’s proceedings in August 2003.
• Addressed as a key - note speaker in a seminar on the issue of Gilgit and Baltistan, organised by Association of British Kashmiris.
• Addressed as a keynote speaker on human rights conference in Paris in 1991.
• Addressed at Cambridge University as a Chief Guest in a conference on Kashmir in 1990.
• Addressed as a keynote speaker at New Delhi conference on Kashmir, which was part of Track Two diplomacy in November 2000.
• In September 2008, addressed a Conference arranged by Interfaith International in Geneva, topic of which was: “Kashmir Issue, Terrorism and Human Rights”.
• Addressed as a speaker in a NGO Conference on Self - Determination in Geneva in August 2000.
• Addressed as a keynote speaker in a fringe meeting of Liberal Democrats at their Annual Conference in Brighton in 1995.
• Participated in World Human Rights Conference in Vienna in 1993.
• Before President Clinton's visit to India and Pakistan in 2000, lead a JKLF delegation to the State Department to discuss Kashmir dispute and situation in South Asia.
• Also had two rounds of meetings with senior State Department officials before President Musharraf’s meeting to Washington in June 2003.
• Apart from that had meetings with senior officials including Ministers of different countries, and also held many meetings with the State Department and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials on number of occasions.
• Played important role in advancing a Kashmiri perspective on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir; and also helped Baroness Emma Nicholson with her report ‘Kashmir: present situation and future prospects’, which was adopted by the European Parliament in May 2007.
• Won first prize in an essay competition in Urdu in 1976. It was organised by High Commission of Pakistan in London, and title of the essay was 'Qaaid-e- Azam's role in Islamic History'.
• Apart from that have addressed conferences in Brussels, Geneva, Toronto, Islamabad, Delhi, and
Publications
• Got first Urdu novel ‘Fareena’ published at the age of eighteen.
• Second Urdu novel ‘Bay-Khataa’ which was about the problems of Asian youths living in UK published in 1983.
• Third Urdu book ‘Pakistan and Kashmiri struggle for independence’ published in 1990.
• Fourth Urdu book is also on Kashmiri struggle, 'Is an independent Kashmir a conspiracy?'
• Apart from that has twenty five books and booklets published in English on various aspects of the Kashmiri struggle.
• Recent publications are: Kashmir dispute as I see it
• Different perspective on Kashmir
• JKLF visit to Pakistan Administered Kashmir
• Kashmir Needs a Change of Heart
• If not self - determination then what?
• Emma Nicholson report- who has won?
• Struggle for independence, Jihad or proxy war (Introduction by Baroness Emma Nicholson)
• Why 22 October 1947 is important in Kashmiri history?
• New dimensions of the Kashmiri struggle.
The following books are published by a German company and available on www.amazon.co.uk
• New Round of the 'Great Game', ISBN 978-3-639-33084-7
• Liberation Struggle, Jihad or a Proxy War,
ISBN 978-3-639-33424-1
• Kashmir Dispute: New Dimensions and New Challenges
ISBN 978-3-639-33566-8
• Kashmir Dispute and Peace in South Asia
ISBN 978-3-639-33732-7
• Terrorism, Kashmir Dispute and Possible Solutions ISBN 978-3-639-34239-0
• Kashmir And The Partition of India, (my Mphil research)
ISBN 978-3-639-34801-9
• Kashmir – an Issue of a Nation not Dispute of a Land, (my PhD research) 978-3-639-35593-2
• Are Kashmiris part of the Kashmir Dispute? 978-3-639-37225-0
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A brief background
Dr Shabir Choudhry was born in a small village called Nakker Shamali (near Panjeri) in District Bhimber, Azad Kashmir. He went to UK in 1966, and like other people from the region, holds a dual nationality. He left secondary school in 1970 with no qualifications and began his life as a textile worker.
In 1975 he started part time studies and passed Matriculation from Government High School Panjeri, passed ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels from UK, and resumed full time degree course in 1981, and passed BA (Hons) in Politics and History in 1984.
He continued full time and part time jobs until he got his Mphil. He passed his PGCE (Post Graduates Certificate in Education) in 1990, and then started full time job as a Lecturer. Due to health problems he resigned from teaching in 1999. At present he is self - employed, provides private tuition, translation and interpretation and consultancy.
Through out his adult life he has actively worked for the cause of Kashmir, and even during long illness he effectively carried out his responsibilities as a leader of the JKLF, a ‘prolific writer’ and consistent campaigner of Rights Movement and peace in Jammu and Kashmir and South Asia.
Dr Shabir Choudhry
Email:drshabirchoudhry@googlemail.com
Telephone: 0044 (0)7790942471
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