Saturday, November 16, 2019

CC News Letter 16 Nov - Five Killed In Bolivia As Security Forces Opened Fire On Supporters Of Evo Morales








Dear Friend,


Security forces opened fire on supporters of evicted Bolivian President Evo Morales in a central town of Sacaba, killing at least five people, injuring dozens. Most of the dead and injured Friday in Sacaba near the city of Cochabamba suffered bullet wounds, Guadalberto Lara, director of the town’s Mexico Hospital, told The Associated Press. He called it the worst violence he’s seen in his 30-year career.

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Five Killed In Bolivia As Security Forces Opened Fire On Supporters Of Evo Morales
by
Countercurrents Collective


Security forces opened fire on supporters of evicted Bolivian President Evo Morales in a central town of Sacaba, killing at least five people, injuring dozens. Most of the dead and injured Friday in Sacaba near the city of Cochabamba suffered bullet wounds, Guadalberto Lara, director of the town’s Mexico Hospital, told The Associated Press. He called it the worst violence he’s seen in his 30-year career.

Five Killed In Bolivia As Security Forces Opened Fire On Supporters Of Evo Morales

in World — by  — November 16, 2019
Security forces opened fire on supporters of evicted Bolivian President Evo Morales in a central town of Sacaba, killing at least five people, injuring dozens.
Most of the dead and injured Friday in Sacaba near the city of Cochabamba suffered bullet wounds, Guadalberto Lara, director of the town’s Mexico Hospital, told The Associated Press. He called it the worst violence he’s seen in his 30-year career.
Angry demonstrators and relatives of the victims gathered at the site of the shootings, chanting: “Civil war, now!”
Morales, who was granted asylum in Mexico after his resignation Sunday, said on Twitter that a “massacre” had occurred and he described Bolivia’s government led by interim President Jeanine Anez as a dictatorship.
Protesters said police fired when demonstrators, including many coca leaf growers who backed Bolivia’s first indigenous president, tried to cross a military checkpoint. Emeterio Colque Sanchez, a 23-year-old university student, said he saw the dead bodies of several protesters and about two-dozen people rushed to hospitals, many covered in blood.



Evo Morales Overthrown, But Bolivian Socialism Will Be Victorious!
by Andre Vltchek


They pledged to do it, and they did – Bolivian feudal lords, mass media magnates and other treasonous “elites” – they overthrew the government, broke hope and interrupted an extremely successful socialist process in what was once one of
the poorest countries in South America. One day, they will be cursed by their own nation. One day they will stand trial for sedition. One day, they will have to reveal who trained them, who employed them, who turned them into spineless beasts. One day! Hopefully soon.

Evo Morales Overthrown, But Bolivian Socialism Will Be Victorious!

in World — by  — November 16, 2019

EVO YES, battered with graffitti
They pledged to do it, and they did – Bolivian feudal lords, mass media magnates and other treasonous “elites” – they overthrew the government, broke hope and interrupted an extremely successful socialist process in what was once one of the poorest countries in South America.
One day, they will be cursed by their own nation. One day they will stand trial for sedition. One day, they will have to reveal who trained them, who employed them, who turned them into spineless beasts. One day! Hopefully soon.
But now, Evo Morales, legitimate President of Bolivia, elected again and again by his people, is leaving his beloved country. He is crossing the Andes, flying far, to fraternal Mexico, which extended her beautiful hand, and offered him political asylum.
This is now. The striking streets of La Paz are covered by smoke, full of soldiers, stained with blood. People are disappearing. They are being detained, beaten, and tortured. Photos of indigenous men and women, kneeling, facing walls, hands tied behind their backs, are beginning to circulate on social media.
El Alto, until recently a place of hope, with its playgrounds for children and elegant cable cars connecting the once dirt-poor communities, is now beginning to lose its native sons and daughters. Battles are raging. People are charging against the oppressors, carrying flags, dying.
A civil war,or more precisely, a war for the survival of socialism,a war against imperialism, for social justice, for indigenous people. A war against racism. A war for Bolivia, for its tremendous pre-colonial culture, for life;life as it is being perceived in the Andes, or deep in the South American rainforest, not as it is seen in Paris, Washington or Madrid.
*
Before a slum, now good town of El Alto
The legacy of Evo Morales is tangible, and simple to understand.
During almost 14 years in power, all the social indicators of Bolivia went sky-high. Millions were pulled out of poverty. Millions have been benefiting from free medical care, free education, subsidized housing, improved infrastructure, a relatively high minimum wage, but also, from pride that was given back to the indigenous population, which forms the majority in this historically feudal country governed by corrupt, ruthless ‘elites’ – descendants of Spanish conquistadors and European ‘gold-diggers’.
Evo Morales made the Aymara and Quechua languages official, on par with Spanish. He made people who communicate in these languages, equal to those who use the tongue of the conquerors. He elevated the great indigenous culture high, to where it belongs – making it the symbol of Bolivia, and of the entire region.
Gone was the Christian cross-kissing (look at the crosses reappearing again, all around the oh so European-looking Jeanine Añez who has grabbed power, ‘temporarily’ but still thoroughly illegally). Instead, Evo used to travel, at least once a year, to Tiwanaku, “the capital of the powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, reached its apogee between 500 and 900 AD”, according to UNESCO. That is where he used to search for spiritual peace. That is where his identity came from.
Gone was the veneration of the Western colonialist and imperialist culture, of savage capitalism.
This was a new world, with ancient, deep roots. This is where South America has been regrouping. Here, and in Correa’s Ecuador, before Correa and his beliefs were purged and ousted by the treacherous Moreno.
And what is more: before the coup, Bolivia was not suffering from economic downfall; it was doing well, extremely well. It was growing, stable, reliable, confident.
Even the owners of big Bolivian companies, if they were to care one bit for Bolivia and its people, had countless reasons to rejoice.
*
Cable cars in La Paz, as public transportation
But the Bolivian business community, as in so many other Latin American countries, is obsessed with the one and only ‘indicator’: “how much higher, how much above the average citizens it can get”. This is the old mentality of the colonialists; a feudal, fascist mentality.
Years ago, I was invited, in La Paz, for dinner by an old family of senators and mass media owners. With no shame, no fear, openly, they spoke, despite knowing who I was:
“We will get rid of this Indigenous bastard. Who does he think he is? If we lose millions of dollars in the process, as we did in 1973 Chile and now in Venezuela, we will still do it. Restoring our order is the priority.”
There is absolutely no way to reason with these people. They cannot be appeased, only crushed; defeated. In Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador or in Bolivia. They are like rats, like disease, proverbial symbols of fascism as in the novel The Plague, written by Albert Camus. They can hide, but they never fully disappear. They are always ready to invade, with zero notice, some happy city.
They are always ready to join forces with the West, because their roots are in the West. They think precisely like the European conquerors, like North American imperialists. They have double nationalities and homes scattered all over the world. Latin America for them is just a place to live, and to plunder natural resources, exploit labor. They rob here, and spend money elsewhere; educate their children elsewhere, get their surgeries done (plastic and real) elsewhere. They go to opera houses in Paris but never mingle with indigenous people at home. Even if, by some miracle, they join the Left, it is the Western, anarcho-syndicalist Left of North America and Europe, never the real, anti-imperialist, revolutionary Left of non-European countries.
They don’t need the success of the nation. They don’t want a great, prosperous Bolivia; Bolivia for all of its citizens.
They only want prosperous corporations. They want money, profit; for themselves, for their families and clans, for their bandit group of people. They want to be revered, considered ‘exceptional’, superior. They cannot live without that gap – the great gap between them and those ‘dirty Indians’, as they call the indigenous people, when no one hears them!
*
Indigenous people waiting for free medical care in La Paz
And that is why, Bolivia should fight, defend itself,as it is beginning to do so right now.
If this, what is happening to Evo and his government, is “the end”, then Bolivia will be set back by decades. Entire generations will again rot alive, in desperation, in rural shacks made of clay, without water and electricity, and without hope.
The ‘elites’ are now talking about ‘peace’,peace for whom? For them! Peace, as it was before Evo; ‘peace’ so the rich can play golf and fly for shopping to their beloved Miami and Madrid, while 90% of the population was getting kicked, humiliated, insulted. I remember that ‘peace’. The Bolivian people remember it even better.
I covered the civil war in neighboring Peru, for several years, in the 90’s, and I often crossed over into Bolivia. I wrote an entire novel about it – “Point of No Return”.It was an absolute horror. I could not even take my local photographers to a concert or for a cup of coffee in a decent place, because they were cholos, indigenous. Nobodies in their own countries. It was apartheid. And if socialism does not return, it will be apartheid once again.
Last time I went to Bolivia, few months ago, it was totally different country. Free, confident. Stunning.
Remembering what I saw in Bolivia and Peru, quarter of a century ago, I declare, clearly and decisively: “To hell with such ‘peace’, proposed by elites’”!
*
None of this is, of course,mentioned in Western mass media outlets. I am monitoring them, from the New York Times to Reuters. In the US, UK, even France. Their eyes are shining. They cannot hide their excitement; euphoria.
The same NYT celebrated the massacres during the 1965-66 US-orchestrated military coup in Indonesia, or on 9-11-1973 in Chile.
Now Bolivia, predictably. Big smiles all over the West. Again, and again, ‘the findings’ of the OAS (Organization of American States) are being quoted as if they were facts; ‘the findings’ of an organization which is fully subservient to Western interests, particularly those of Washington.
It is as if by saying: “We have proof that a coup did not take place, because those who had organized the coup say that it actually did not happen.”
*
In Paris, on the 10th November, in the middle of the Place de la Republique, a huge crowd of treasonous Bolivians gathered, demanding the resignation of Evo. I filmed and photographed these people. I wanted to have this footage in my possession, for posterity.
They live in France, and their allegiances are towards the West. Some are even of European stock, although others are indigenous.
There are millions of Cubans, Venezuelans, Brazilians, living in the US and Europe, working tirelessly for the destruction of their former motherlands. They do it in order to please their new masters, to make profit, as well as various other reasons.
It is not peace. This is terrible, brutal war, which has already taken millions of lives, in Latin America alone.
This continent has the most unequally distributed wealth on earth. Hundreds of millions are living in misery. While others, sons and daughters or Bolivian feudal scum, are attending Sorbonne and Cambridge, to get intellectually conditioned, in order to serve the West.
Each time, and I repeat each time, a decent, honest government is voted in, democratically, by the people, each time there is someone who has invented a brilliant solution and solid plan to improve this dire situation, the clock begins ticking. The years, (sometimes even months) of the leader are numbered. He or she will either be killed, or ousted, or humiliated and forced out of power.
The country then goes back to, literally, shit, as has happened just recently to Ecuador (under Moreno), Argentina (under Macri) and Brazil (under Bolsonaro). The brutal status quo is preserved. The lives of tens of millions are ruined. “Peace” returns. For the Western regime and its lackeys.
Then, as a raped country screams in pain, countless international NGO’s, UN agencies and funding organizations, descend upon it, suddenly determined to ‘help refugees’, to keep children in classrooms, to ‘empower women’, or to fight malnutrition and hunger.
None of this would be needed, if the elected governments which are serving their people were to be left alone; left in real peace!
All this sick, pathetic hypocrisy is never discussed, publicly, by the mass media. All this Western terrorism unleashed against progressive Latin American countries (and dozens of other countries, all over the world), is hushed up.
Enough is enough!
Latin America is, once again, waking up. The people are outraged. The coup in Bolivia will be resisted.Macri’s regime has fallen. Mexico is marching in a cautiously socialist direction. Chile wants its socialist country back; a country which was crushed by military boots in 1973.
In the name of the people, in the name of the great indigenous culture, and in the name of the entire continent, Bolivian citizens are now resisting, struggling, confronting the fascist, pro-Western forces.
Revolutionary language is once again being used. It may be out of fashion in Paris or London, but not in South America. And that is what matters – here!
Evo did not lose. He won. His country has won. Under his leadership, it became a wonderful country; a country full of hope, a country that offered great prospects to hundreds of millions all overLa Patria Grande. Everyone south of the Rio Grande knows it. Marvelous Mexico, which has given him asylum, knows it, too.
Evo has won. And then, he was forced out by the treasonous military, by treasonous business thugs, feudal land owners, and by Washington.Evo and his family and comrades have been brutalized by that extreme right-wing paramilitary leader – Luis Fernando Camacho –who is calling himself a Christian; brutalized by him and by his men and women.
Bolivia will fight. It will bring back its legitimate President where he belongs; to the Presidential Palace.
The plane which is taking Evo to Mexico, north, is actually taking him home, back to Bolivia. It is a big, big detour. Thousands of kilometers, and months, perhaps even years… But from the moment the airplane took off, the tremendous, epic journey back to La Paz began.
The people of Bolivia will never abandon their President. And Evo is, forever, tied to his People.And Long Live Bolivia, Damn It!
For them we fight and will win
*
Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Four of his latest books are China and Ecological Civilization with John B. Cobb, Jr., Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter. His Patreon

Evo Morales: Victim of the Longing for Lithium and yes, the Chinese American Trade War
by Mary Metzger


Evo Morales spoke the truth when he explained the reason for his fall as leader of his country – it was for no other reason than because he was a socialist who sought to socialize the resources of his country and serve the interests of his people at the expense of the profits of international capitalist corporations

Evo Morales: Victim of the Longing for Lithium and yes, the Chinese American Trade War

in World — by  — November 16, 2019

Evo Morales spoke the truth when he explained the reason for his fall as leader of his country – it was for no other reason than because he was a socialist who sought to socialize the resources of his country and serve the interests of his people at the expense of the profits of international capitalist corporations.  From the time Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism came to power in 2006, they began to undo the rape of their country’s resources by international firms.  The government went directly after the giant international mining firms that were claiming as their own the precious resources of Bolivia: Glencore, Jindal Steel and Power,  Anglo-Argentine Pan American Energy, and the Canadian firm, South American Silver (now TriMetals Mining), which had been mining not only the silver for which Bolivia was famous, but also rare earth metals such as indium which is used in flat-screen televisions.
In the course of its mining operations South American Silver claimed more and more land, much of it the home of indigenous peoples who protested the company’s invasion of their sacred places and use of violence.  Morales himself came from indigenous people.  In 2012 the Morales government annulled its contract with South American Silver.  Despite the tremendous amount of pressure put on the government by Canada, Morales held firm.  Seven years later South American Silver settled with the Bolivian  government for $25.8 million, about a tenth of what it had earlier demanded as compensation.
Other international companies found themselves in the same position as the government of Morales moved towards nationalization of the natural resources of the nation.  Jindal Steel, an Indian company which mined iron found its contract was put on hold in. In 2014, it won $22.5 million from Bolivia.  The Morales government claimed possession of three facilities belonging to the Glencore, the giant Swiss-based company that was mining Bolivia’s tin and zinc.  This expropriation of Glencore’s facilities was proceeded by an uprising of the miners demanding better working conditions and wages, which was met by violence on the part of the company. It would  be sued by Pan American for 1.5 billion dollars for the expropriation of
Most aggressively, Pan American sued the Bolivian government for $1.5 billion for the of the Anglo-Argentinian company’s stake in natural gas producer Chaco.  Bolivia would settle this suite for 357 million dollars in 2014.  The case brought about by the expropriation of the Anglo-Argentinian company’s stake in natural gas producer Chaco would be  settled for $357 million in 2014.  Thus, at a time when the Bolivian GDP was $28 billion, Morales’ government paid out 1.9 billion to settle its suits. Yet, as devastating as these suits may have appeared, they proved to be quite beneficial to the country in the end, as from the time of Morales coming to power, the size of the economy tripled, and the foreign reserves of the nation grew.  Morales strategy of socializing the countries operations proved to be brilliant.  He would use the resources of the country to benefit its people rather than to make profits for international firms, and the result was that Bolivia’s poverty rate declined and its social indicators rose.
Lithium:
The outstanding Indian historian, editor and journalist, Vijay Prashad, from whom I have gleaned much of the above information, points out in his article “After Evo, the Lithium Question Looms Large in Bolivia” (https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/11/13/after-evo-the-lithium-question-looms-large-) that the overthrow of Morales cannot be fully understood “without a glance at the nation’s mass reserves of this crucial mineral.”  In turn, it is essential to grasp both what Lithium is and just how important lithium is to the world,  if one is to truly understand the current political situation in Bolivia.
Lithium is a special metal in many ways. It’s light and soft — so soft that it can be cut with a kitchen knife and so low in density that it floats on water. It’s also solid at a wide range of temperatures, with one of the lowest melting points of all metals and a high boiling point.  It was among the first and lightest chemical elements (hydrogen and helium, being the other two), created at the birth of the universe. Theoretically, the universe should hold three times as much lithium as it does, but it does not, an issue called the “missing lithium problem”. The mystery of the  “missing lithium” has preoccupied astrophysicists for some time.  In any case, it is extremely rare, not only in the universe but perhaps resultantly, on the planet earth.  Lithium makes up a mere 0.0007 percent of the Earth’s crust, according to the Jefferson Lab, and it’s only found locked up in minerals and salts. Bolivia claims to have 70 percent of the world’s lithium reserves, mostly in the Salar de Uyuni salt flats
Yet there is an inverse relationship between how rare Lithium is and how diverse and extensive its uses.  Lithium, atomic number 3, is an element of many uses. It is not only, as Vijay Prashad  notes, “essential for the electric car”- being a key component of the batteries on which it runs,  but key element in lightweight, rechargeable power for laptops, phones and other digital devices. https://www.livescience.com/28579-lithium.html
While its use in the production of batteries is its primary use, with 40% of lithium being used for this purpose, approximately 26% of lithium is used in the production of ceramics and glass.  In addition, lithium stearate is mixed with oils to make all-purpose and high-temperature lubricants, lithium hydroxide is used to absorb carbon dioxide in space vehicles, and lithium is alloyed with other metals to make high performance alloys for aircraft.
It is interesting Lithium, lightest of all metals, functions to “lighten” our moods. Naturally occurring lithium in drinking water correlates with lower levels of suicide, according to a 2009 study that highlights lithium’s role in the brain.  Pharmaceutical grade lithium it is used to treat the manic episodes of bipolar disorder (manic depression) the symptoms of which include hyperactivity, rushed speech, poor judgment, reduced need for sleep, aggression, and anger.  It is also used to treat depression, as well as Schizophrenia.
Lithium also plays a role in firework shows when it is mixed with strontium salts to create brilliant red colors.
As a result of its many and varied uses, the demand for lithium has increased even as the amount of lithium in the world remains limited.  In the recent past, Chile and Australia produced the most lithium in the world.  The United States has one lithium mine, in Nevada, according to the USGS.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Argentina and Chile increased their lithium production 15 percent each in 2014 alone to meet the growing demand. Worldwide, production jumped 6 percent that year.  As noted above, Bolivia claims to have 70% of the world’s lithium, nearly all of it undeveloped.
The complexity of the mining and processing has meant that Bolivia has not been able to develop the lithium industry on its own. It requires capital, and it requires expertise.  Thus, the government has struggle to raise the money it requires to mine its lithium in a way that is consistent with its socialist principles which demand that wealth be kept in the country and given to the people.  When Bolivia was unable to make deals with western multinational firms which would allow it to meet it socialist goals, it made the decision to partner with Chinese firms.  In so doing it walked into the center of the head on confrontation between the United States and China – countries who both wanted and needed lithium for their own technological and military purposes.  It was Evo Morales, that socialist man of and from the people, who found himself in crosshairs of that confrontation.  All that was necessary was to prod the Christian right, entice the bourgeoisie of the country, bribe the police, and military and cast lies before the people to oust him from power.
The question now is how will China respond to the fact that now that Morales has been forced to flee his homeland out of fear for his life,  there is no longer any assurance they will  get the lithium they need?
Mary Metzger is a 74 year old semi retired teacher. She did her undergraduate work at S.U.N.Y. Old Westbury and her graduate work In Dialectics under Bertell Ollman at New York University. She has taught numerous subjects, from Public Sector Labor Relations to Philosophy of Science, to many different levels of students from the very young to Ph.D. candidates, in many different institutions and countries from Afghanistan to Russia. She has been living in Russia for the past 12 years where she focuses on research in the Philosophy of Science and History of the Dialectic, and writes primarily for Countercurrents. She is the mother of three, the grandmother of five, and the great grandmother of two.


Abdul Jabbar: The victim who fought for victims
by Sheshu Babu


Another anniversary of
Bhopal Gas tragedy will pass by next month but still many poor people are suffering the after effects of the release of poisonous gas. Many activists are still engaged in struggle for justice. One of the oldest activist Abdul Jabbar led the largest group of survivors of the Union Carbide gas leak in 1984.

Abdul Jabbar: The victim who fought for victims

in India — by  — November 16, 2019
Another anniversary of Bhopal Gas tragedy will pass by next month but still many poor people are suffering the after effects of the release of poisonous gas. Many activists are still engaged in struggle for justice. One of the oldest activist Abdul Jabbar led the largest group of survivors of the Union Carbide gas leak in 1984.
Activism
Abdul Jabbar taught people how to mobilize and fight for justice till his last breath and demanded jobs, compensation, monthly pension and medical relief.
“There are two kinds of struggles here in Bhopal”,Abdul Jabbar had recalled in an oral exhaustive history interview in 2014. “One is a quest for self- reliance. The other is against the injustice of the government ….”( Abdul Jabbar, Bhopal gas tragedy’s oldest activist,turned ailing survivors into warriors, by RAMA LAKSHMI, 15 November 2019, theprint.in). In the past three months though he had severe ailments including diabetes, he could not get proper treatment in Bhopal super speciality hospital. He passed away before the MP government proposed to airlift him to Mumbai on 19 November as reported by his close friends.
Despite odds
He lost his mother, father and brother to one of the world’s worst industrial disasters and he himself suffered lung fibrosis also lost 50 per cent of vision due to the accident. He never stopped fighting for justice. In 1987, he started the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sanghatan, one of the organizations championing the cause of the victims of the incident.( Bhopal Gas Tragedy Activist Abdul Jabbar Dies, Edited by Vaibhav Tiwari, updated November 14 2019, ndtv.com). His group fought not only for allowances and pensions to widows but also employment opportunities to the victims.
He was famous as ‘Jabbar Bhai’ to the old city residents many of whom were affected by the tragedy. In his lifetime, he imparted vocational training to around 5,000 women so that they could earn a livelihood for their families.( Abdul Jabbar, Man Who Helped Lakhs Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims Rebuild Lives, Dies At 61, by Vivek Trivedi, updated November 15, 2019, news18.com). At the time of the fatal accident, he was 27 and worked as construction worker. He tried to save as many residents as possible from the clutches of Mythl Iso cyanide.
Struggle continues
He led many protest marches even in Delhi and brought to limelight the problems faced by the victims. His struggle for adequate compensation is still to be achieved. His zeal to march forward should be continued till final settlement is granted to the satisfaction of all the victims. The slogan “Hum Bhopal ki Naari Hain, Phool Nahi Chingari Hain” should continue to inspire the women seeking quick Justice to end their woes.
He was a great optimist. “Ladenge! Jeetenge! ” was his tireless slogan. ‘We will fight and win’ was his courageous way of struggle that would inspire not only gas victims but also future generations who need to take firm stand against corruption, government apathy and injustice
Sheshu Babu is a political commentator



The Relevance of Nehruvian ideals of Secularism, Socialism and Minority Rights in the contemporary Political Scenario
by Badre Alam Khan


Barring the Hindu Right, the Left-liberals and secular oriented academics and civil society groups have time and again emphasized that Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s secular legacy needs to be remembered in the current political scenario. While remembering the contributions of Nehru on the occasion of his 130th birth anniversary, at New Delhi, the Congress President Sonia Gandhi vividly reminded us
that his progressive vision such as secularism, democratic institutions, socialistic pattern of economy, pluralism and diversity and non- alignment et



Kashmir After Abrogation of Article 370: Lies and Propaganda Galore
by Ram Puniyani


It is over three months that the Article 370 has been abrogated. The procedure laid down by the law has been given a go bye and through a majority in Lok Sabha, bypassing the people of Kashmir the act has been done. While many a falsehood has been promoted, lately two such surfaced yet again. Paying tribute to Sardar Patel on 31st October, Sardar’s anniversary, Narendra Modi, dedicated the abolition of this article to him

Kashmir After Abrogation of Article 370: Lies and Propaganda Galore

in India — by  — November 16, 2019
It is over three months that the Article 370 has been abrogated. The procedure laid down by the law has been given a go bye and through a majority in Lok Sabha, bypassing the people of Kashmir the act has been done. While many a falsehood has been promoted, lately two such surfaced yet again. Paying tribute to Sardar Patel on 31st October, Sardar’s anniversary, Narendra Modi, dedicated the abolition of this article to him. Interestingly it was Sardar who was crucial part of the Committee which had drafted the said article. Also it was Sardar Patel who had moved the resolution of Article 370 in Constituent Assembly as Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, one dealing with the issue as External Affairs minister, was away to US at that time.
With lapse of time not only the ancient and medieval history is being doctored to suit the communal politics, even the recent history is also under mutilation by likes of Modi who are currently ruling the roost. The other point which the Prime Minster and the other top officials are harping strongly is that it was this article due to which terrorism was getting a boost! The point they want to make is that with the abrogation of this article terrorism will be controlled in the troubled state. As public memory is short it is necessary to recall that while hurling the disaster of demonetization on the country, similar claim was made that counterfeit currency is fuelling the terrorism and demonetization will wipe out the militancy in Kashmir. As the matters turned out along with other claims about merits of demonetization even this claim turned out to be totally hollow and false.
As a blockade has been put on Kashmir, normal life brought to standstill, local leaders arrested and national leaders not permitted to visit the valley, in a very clever manner a delegation of some European right wing MPs has been put together by some business person, in the name of an NGO. The invitation to the MP, Chris Davies, who said that he will like to meet the local people on his own; was withdrawn right away and the compliant MP’s did come for a the trip. Their job was to give the ‘All is well’ certificate to the Modi Governments move after the ‘conducted tour’, which they enjoyed.
During this period despite the presence of military in large numbers, despite the claims that the abolition of this article will curtail terrorism in the valley, already disturbing killings have been taking place. In one such tragic incident five migrant workers from West Bengal have been done to death, shot dead in Jammu Kashmir’s Kulgam. Prior to this there was attack on people related to fruit trade. In another shocking and painful incident one person died and fifteen injured in a grenade attack in Srinagar, in a vegetable market where vendors were targeted.
On one hand the people of J&K are feeling humiliated as their state has been demoted to a Union Territory and on the other there are boasts that this is what was the dream of Sardar Patel!
The false hood that India has eliminated one big reason behind terrorism is totally away from truth. This understanding negates the facts of history and builds the narrative to suit the politics being pursued by BJP. Why was militancy there in Kashmir? As such the story begins with Pakistan’s attack on Kashmir, in the form of Kabayalis (Tribal), who were backed by the Pakistan army. Since Kashmiri people did not want to succumb to the “Two Nation Theory” propagated by communal elements, since they were more for secular democracy, they did request Indian Government to quell the Pakistani aggression. The complex process leading the treaty of Accession and later article 370 through Indian Constituent Assembly has been dealt with extensively by serious commentators.
The efforts of likes Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to put pressure to forcibly merge Kashmir with India, the rise of communal politics in India sent the feeling of disenchantment to Sheikh Abdullah in particular, the one who as such was instrumental in accession of Kashmir to India. To cut the long story short, Sheikh’s apprehensions were answered by putting him in the prison and this is what sowed the seeds of alienation among people of Kashmir. This alienation of Kashmir people duly supported by Pakistan is what has been the root cause of terrorism in Kashmir. Article 370 was the protective cover which by giving the autonomy to the state of J&K was a big obstacle to the proliferation of terrorism as such. Of course the global situation where by America sowed the seeds of Al Qaeda to fight against Russian army added on to the problem as the Al Qaeda and its clones, after defeating the Russian army in alliance with anti Soviet Forces, made their entry into the troubled state, and communalized the militancy. Thirty years down the line now the picture is being presented in an obverse way.
What was needed was to instill more democracy in the state and involve the disgruntled elements into the process of dialogue. Of course the negative role of Pakistan, backed up thoroughly by America has been the major factor. The problems can be solved only when the correct diagnosis of the issue is made. The warped understanding of recent history by communalists, is dictating the current politics and so the blame of militancy is being put on article 370. Article 370 has also been blamed for lack of development in Kashmir.
The truth is that in social development indices Kashmir’s indices are better than many states and above the national averages. Time alone will tell how Pakistan behaves, how the cancerous Al Qaeda type elements will be tackled within the state. An all round process of dialogues on the issue is a must. Strengthening of democratic process seems to be the only way to restore peace and overcome the violence which is the tormenting the people of Kashmir!
Ram Puniyani was a professor in biomedical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and took voluntary retirement in December 2004 to work full time for communal harmony in India. He is involved with human rights activities from last two decades.He is associated with various secular and democratic initiatives like All India Secular Forum, Center for Study of Society and Secularism and ANHAD. Response only to ram.puniyani@gmail.com

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The suicide of bright young scholar Fathima Latheef at the IIT Madras is reflective of the brutal and atrocious caste order prevailing in these institutions which discriminate against Dalit, OBC, Adivasi and Muslim students. This suicide is an institutional murder where the masterminds and caste supremacists are well protected. The list is long in recent years as how bright young dynamic scholars particularly hailing from Dalit Adivasi Muslim background are being targeted not merely by the Savarna students but their faculties.














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