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A Response to the Threat of Arrest for Sedition
"Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice."
KASHMIR - Oct. 26 - I write this from Srinagar, Kashmir. This morning's papers say that I may be arrested on charges of sedition for what I have said at recent public meetings on Kashmir. I said what millions of people here say every day. I said what I, as well as other commentators have written and said for years. Anybody who cares to read the transcripts of my speeches will see that they were fundamentally a call for justice. I spoke about justice for the people of Kashmir who live under one of the most brutal military occupations in the world; for Kashmiri Pandits who live out the tragedy of having been driven out of their homeland; for Dalit soldiers killed in Kashmir whose graves I visited on garbage heaps in their villages in Cuddalore; for the Indian poor who pay the price of this occupation in material ways and who are now learning to live in the terror of what is becoming a police state.
Yesterday I traveled to Shopian, the apple-town in South Kashmir which had remained closed for 47 days last year in protest against the brutal rape and murder of Asiya and Nilofer, the young women whose bodies were found in a shallow stream near their homes and whose murderers have still not been brought to justice. I met Shakeel, who is Nilofer's husband and Asiya's brother. We sat in a circle of people crazed with grief and anger who had lost hope that they would ever get insaf-justice-from India, and now believed that Azadi-freedom-was their only hope. I met young stone pelters who had been shot through their eyes. I traveled with a young man who told me how three of his friends, teenagers in Anantnag district, had been taken into custody and had their finger-nails pulled out as punishment for throwing stones.
In the papers some have accused me of giving 'hate-speeches', of wanting India to break up. On the contrary, what I say comes from love and pride. It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians. It comes from wanting to live in a society that is striving to be a just one. Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice, while communal killers, mass murderers, corporate scamsters, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free.
More on the ongoing debate in India over Roy's comments on Kashmir: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/
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29 Comments so far
Show AllMay the fools in government not imprison this wonderful voice. When will all this end, whether it be here in Korporate controlled Amerika, in India, Russia, wherever?
India is becoming Burma in slow motion.
actually India is headed for a revolution from the countless shantytowns neglected by the fascist castes and the greedy yuppies who are blind to the condition of the masses. China is next.
How many insurgent uprising and occupations like Kashmir and indigenous peoples can you count. What the indian elite know too well is how to maintain the habits of their colonial masters
I guess you know you've arrived as a web site when the operatives take the time to post everyday.
Yeah, India ain't Burma, no doubt. It's better in some ways, much worse in others.
And most of the people getting "lifted" in India were never all that poor to begin with. There's been a significant middle class creation as a result of large amounts of offshoring from western corporations, no doubt, although in that zero sum environment, you're cheering on a people who are benefitting by the economic devastation of your own (presumably) people.
India, always one of the poorest if not *the* poorest places on the planet, is worse off in terms of poverty under global capital than it was even 20 years ago in spite of the rise of a small middle class.
"millions out of poverty!" indeed, in a country with a billion or so people. any indication from Rush about the fate of the rest of them?
Right on !
Ah Yes! Its coming under Washington's yoke. When it looks like Haiti, you will know it is free. When Indian politicians know who has the money to determine who gets elected, and India is wholly owned by 3 US corporations and has 12 hour shifts for everyone and the inequality enforced using CIA coups and by US troops, it will finally be free.
_________Despite impressive economic growth rate in recent years, India stands out for its poor performance in reducing its overall hunger rate and in particular child malnutrition. (As opposed to China, which has combined high economic growth with focused government programs to deliver an impressive reduction in rates of hunger). More than 40 percent of children under 5 in India are underweight – a result, some food experts say, of the low nutritional and social status of women in the country.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/1011/Global-Hunger-Index-top-10-Which-nations-have-reduced-hunger-most/%28page%29/2
Roy goes "for Dalit soldiers killed in Kashmir whose graves" Dalits build graves ?? I though they Cremate dead body.
Also Roy says "Azadi-freedom-was their only hope" Azadi/Freedom from India to become Independent Kashmir ? really ? Does she really believes that Kashmir will remain "Independent" if India allows that ? Pakistan and China-non of either is democracy- will just sit there without eating-up this "Independent Kashmir" !!
This is coming even after Musharraf admitting they (Pakistan/ISI) trained militants against India in Kashmir ?
Ms Roy seems to getting into act of self-indulgent here. Also, was wondering what would be her view on countries like US, Canada, Australia , New Zeland were native people have been nearly wiped out or are leaving on Reservation !!
Talk about Colonization and no mention about UK -Booker Prize giver !!
She talks about "corporate scamsters", when did she criticized Corporations ? Bhopal - Union Carbide/Dow chemicals, not a word from her even when she visits US. Farmers suicide in India because of Monsanto GM crop, she hasn't made any splash because of those issues. Vandana Shiva has taken up "corporate scamsters" not Aurndhati Roy.
Apparantly, you don't read very widely and relish libeling Ms Roy.
"Apparantly, you don't read very widely and relish libeling Ms Roy."
As far reading "Very Widely" goes, you may be right depending on what that means, though have read quite bit about India's Freedom struggle and people involved in it, starting from Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, in its original written language (not the English translation one).
By the way Mahatma was very sad on hearing that Hindustan (India) will be divided into two, Hindustan and Pakistan. And would be even more sad today, if were alive, to hear more pieces are made out of it and that to because of Religious differences.
not sure why called involved in libeling, when taking Ms Roy's own words and countering them with reason. Though every one has their own judgment based on individual skills.
80% of Kashmir is barren mountains and high elevations where no trees grow. Where would they get the wood to build a pyre for cremation? I guess cremation cound also be done with large burner fired with bottled gas, but can Dalits afford that?
LOL. lulz.
If you have even bothered reading a bit of what Roy has written, you would have realised that she too has argued against Partition.
"not sure why called involved in libeling, when taking Ms Roy's own words and countering them with reason. Though every one has their own judgment based on individual skills."
In your 2 "quotes" you have misquoted her, and then, gone on long-winded attacks onthose misquotes. For example, Roy did NOT say azadi / freedom was their only hope. She said that they believed that azadi / freedom was their only hope. You either need to work on your reading comprehension skills, or work on your misquoting and distortion skills.
Reminds me of the dude we got during the Honduran coup who kept insisting he was an ordinary Honduran and constantly praising the military coup, as if ordinary Hondurans were running around CD. Gotta love the moles.
"...Dalit soldiers killed in Kashmir whose graves I visited on garbage heaps."
You really shouldn't misquote in such close proximity to the source.
"...Dalit soldiers killed in Kashmir whose graves I visited on garbage heaps."
I'm sorry, should have included the proximity.
One thing is sure, she seems to knows how to attract readers far away almost on the other side of the planet. It would have resulted even more traffic, if she had used term like "cows on the roads", she already got "Dalits", but I think "Caste-system" would have done more. What else ? "Beggars on the streets", "Malnutrition Children"...
What was the topic again ? oh, who cares, lets show linguistic skills. After all "IQ is measured in English only" I heard.
seriously, go back to answering the phones.
"go back to answering the phones" , understood the tone behind that sentence, though didn't understand where it came from, until I read post above this thread "What's So Funny About Outsourcing?" by John Feffer
You sound like a angry-frustrated person from US. Unfortunately your feelings are directed toward wrong people, as usual. Those answering calls do not make decision, law makers and Business/Corporations in US make.
I heard while people were loosing jobs in US, Bill Gates, IBM leader (don't know name), Dell , Cisco and others went to US Congress to request to increase quota of H-1 visa.
As per "answering the phones", I hardly know English, some how able to manage so far, so wouldn't get a job there, even I wanted.
Granted, it was a cheap shot, but the point in making it was that you don't get a free pass to do the same thing with a writer that a lot of people admire. Your OP was crap, and the remainder of your posts followed suit.
On a lighter note, I do hold the state of affairs re: outsourcing against Bill Gates et al primarily. I realize the offspring of other nation;s middle classes need to earn a living like anyone else.
How would you feel if I were to respond to you with a stereotypical:
"seriously. go back to banging your sister in the trailer park."
of course, I would never stoop that low.
You mean my sister's at the trailer park? Rats, and I went to the bowling alley instead.
Seriously, even though they're not really equivalent, I can take a punch as well as throw them mujeriego. To be honest, you made me laugh a little, and I admit I deserved a nice, juicy response like that. So you did your part for good and light.
But I'm not gonna play nice when someone comes in and randomly slames a person I admire as much as I admire Roy with almost no basis and persists on doing it. True, that's no reason for me to lose my cyber-temper, but there you have it.
What do the people of Kashmir want?
That is the only question that matters. The rest is just irrelevant pathetic attempts at distraction.
For those interested, watch a recent talk by Arundhati Roy here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNXG_VNaQn0&feature=related
Thanx for the link! Powerful stuff - i can see why the Indian government sees her as a "threat" to it's colonial powers. She may be a Ghandi for Kashmir?
I have thought highly of and admired this woman greatly for some time, she is a powerful, articulate poetic voice and her critiques are incisive and cogent. Roy and Shiva - India has some very impressive women, indeed ....
Go, Arundhati! We could use a few like you in this country ....
Perhaps it may help to try to teach the government of India (and anywhere else) what is the meaning within the wheel at the center of their own flag.
Arundhati, a threat of arrest is a badge of honor and every revolutionary needs a trial.
In the end you can't loose.
love folk
Bring America Back !!!!
**Last year I blogged that Arundhati Roy needed to
get and stay out of India==she is no longer safe
there.
**We need her as an activist, not a Martyr and
Her homeland is no longer the land of Ghandi.
**India is devoted to its Nukes cold war with
Pakistan, thanks to its Uncle Sammy USA !
**Since Pakistan is on the main expressway for
the Drone bombing run, someone pressing the
red hot antiwar buttons in India will not be
a welcome person===and that is what Arundhati
does. She needs to seek asylum elsewhere and
get into a low profile at this time.
I have a great deal of respect for Arundhati Roy. I am, however rather skeptical as to whether she is going to be arrested for ``sedition''. India is an open, democratic society where people are not, as a matter of principle, imprisoned for their views. If they were, India's prisons would be even more overcrowded than they are, as Indians of all walks of life enjoy nothing more than picking on their own government.
And I do second the comment about Burma being greatly improved if it were to become like India.
People in India become very angry at any accusation that their army is mistreating Kashmiri people.Their attitude is exactly like that of Zionists when anyone criticizes the IDF. Arundhati Roy has spoken out about Kashmir and other places in India. I admire her for remaining lucid and fair minded under very trying circumstances. I've been in Kashmir, you really do have to go there to see how oppressive it is when an army three times the size of the one America sent to Iraq is parked in a valley no bigger than the Okanagan. But say anything about it to an Indian, they will tear your head off. Kashmir belongs to India and they can do anything they damn well want to in their own country.Period.End of discussion.
I wish that brave lady well.
that is why
I have a hard time accepting the Indian claim to the worlds largest democracy. This is a most corrupted label.
Over 70% indian natives live in dire poverty, over 70% of human and industrial waste is disposed in the rivers they hold sacred. By some estimates over 60 million girl babies have been aborted, no thanks to their inhuman primitive preference for gender selection aka female infanticide. Worse than the european holocaust and nearly every genocide known to man, it goes on today and it bothers few among us.
Just like China, the West is entirely complicit in crimes against humanity for supporting the misguided elite in their nasty greedy rush to globalize and uplift their economy. All the positive GDP stats do not reveal the true human misery index
Bravo Arundhati Roy, go get em