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July21,201615:45IST

Thesuspensionofmobilecommunicationfor12daysinKashmiramidstrict
curfewhasputcitizensinadesperatesituation,saysAtharParvaiz.

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Whenyoureceiveatelephonecalloutofthebluefromoverseasandhearananxiousfellow
Kashmirithankingyouprofuselyonlybecauseyournumber(inKashmir)turnsouttobe
reachableandbecauseyouseektoassuagehisanxietybyconjecturingthathisfamilywouldbe
safeamidafreshupheavalinthevalley,itonlyreaffirmsyourconvictionthatyoubelongtoa
godforsakenland,wherepeopleareselectivelypushedintooblivionwhenevertheauthorities
wish.
ThisispreciselywhathappenedwithmewhenIreceivedaphonecallfromLondonasmy
phonenumber,whichbydefaultcomesfromBharatSancharNigamLimitedwhosecellphone
servicesarelargelyusedbygovernmentofficials,isfunctioningwhilethereststandsnapped
sinceJuly8followingHizbulMajhideen'commander'BurhanWani'sdeath.
Thekillingsparkedoffanenormousemotionaloutbursttowhichtheauthorities,inamuch
expectedkneejerkreaction,respondedwithimposingacompletecommunicationblockade
whichKashmirishavebeendepressinglyfamiliarwithforalmostadecadenow.Inthelast
decade,Kashmirishavebeensubjectedtosuchblockadesseveraltimes.
NotthatithadfadedoutofmyconsciousnessthatIbelongtoaregionwhichfrequentlycomes
http://www.rediff.com/news/column/kashmirnotreachable/20160721.htm

LegendaryartistS
HRazapasses
away

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PM'ssilenceover
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offmemoriesof
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1/5

7/24/2016

Kashmir:Notreachable!Rediff.comIndiaNews

hisforgettable
debuttour

undersiege,butthetelephonecallchurnedmeupagainwhenthecaller,whointroduced
herselfas'Tracy',toldmethatitwasabigreliefforhertogetconnectedtosomeonein
Kashmir.
Afterexchangingsalutations,shehandedoverthephonetohercolleagueShehzad,aKashmiri
inLondonwhohadnocluewhyhewasnotabletospeaktohisfamilybackhome.

IITaspirant
commitssuicide
inKota,12th
deaththisyear

ShehzadsaidhewasfromHazratbalinSrinagarandhehadbeendesperatelytryingtocallhis
sister(Rabia),brother(Aamir)andhismother,buthecouldnotreachanyofthem.Tracy,he
said,had'recentlyGoogledyournameforaprofessionalreasonandgotyourcontactdetails.
Wethoughtsinceyouareajournalist,yournumbermightwork.Luckilyitdid,'Shehzadtold

4reasonswhy
WestIndies
bowlersfailed

me,seeminglystillindisbeliefthathewasspeakingtosomeoneinKashmir.
Aswespoke,hekeptpunctuatingtheconversationrepeatedlywithprofoundgratitude.
'Thanksalotforspeakingtomeandgivingmeasenseofhowthingsstandthere.Ifeelso
relieved,'Shehzadtoldme.
'HowcomenoneofthenumbersItriedwereworking?'heaskedinnocently.Hehadnoidea
thatnoneofthosephonenumbers,asImadeoutfromtheirinitialfourdigits,qualifiesforthe
quintessential'CodeofCommunication,'whichcomessuddenlyinforceeverytimeapolitical
upheavalunfoldsinhisnativeland.

Notsurprisingly,stayingawayfromhomeforlong,asShehzad'saccentsuggested,hehadno
knowledgeofthedoctrinewhichdetermineshowinformationshouldnotbeallowedtotravel

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Spotted:MikaSinghinMumbai
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inhisnativelandduringthepoliticalturmoil.
WhenShehzad,someday,returnstoKashmir,hismomandsiblingswouldprobablyexplainto
himhowKashmirisarecrippledphysically,psychologically,sociallyandemotionallybyall
sortsofblockadeseverytimesomeincidenttriggersanuprising.
Fornow,hehopesthatI,asajournalist,amabletolocatehisfamilyinHazratbalandmakehis
momandsiblingsspeaktohimonmy'privileged'BSNLphonenumber.
Itisathrowbacktotheoldsimpledayswhentherewerenomodernmeansofcommunication,
butnosecuritystraitjacketsaswell.
ThisiswhyKashmirisdrawcomparisonsbetweentheprevailingcrippledcommunicationin
Kashmirandthedayswhentherewerenoelectronicmeansofcommunication,onlytodub
theirlandamisfitformodernmeansofcommunicationconsideringitspoliticalinstabilityand
thesickeningfrequencywithwhichcommunicationmeansaresuspendedhere.
"Earlier,wewouldatleastwalkordrivetogettheinformationaboutournearanddearones.
Buttoday,eventhatisimpossiblebecauseofcurfews,"aKashmiriwoman,whohasnotheard
fromhersistersforthepasteightdays,toldme.
SittinginLondon,Shehzadhasnoideahow,inthegarbofmanagingorstiflingpublicanger,
eventhemostunimaginablethingslikesuspensionofbasichumanrightsrightto
communicate,righttoinformandgetinformed,righttomovearoundandrighttohaveaccess
tohealthcareetcareenforceduponthepeopleofhisnativelandtimeandagain.
IthasnowbecomequitenormalinKashmirthatprotestdemonstrationsnecessitatethe
presenceofparamilitarytroopsinabundancetoensurethatpelletsarefiredineverydirection
wheretheslogansorstonescomefrom,beforetheresponsibilityofthoseprotestsisdumpedin
thelapofPakistan.
While47peoplehavelosttheirlivestobulletsinthecurrentuprising,over3,000arenursing
bulletandpElletinjuriesincluding150witheyeinjuries.

ThesuspensionofmobilephoneservicesinKashmir,includingmobileInternet,andathree
daybanonnewspaperpublication,hasleftthevalleyatthemercyofrumourmongers.
Speakingtomeonalandlinetelephone,awomanfromNorthKashmirtoldmeshehadheard
aboutthekillingofthreepersonsinfiringonprotestersinacertainvillage,whichturnedout

tobefalsewhenIcheckedthedetails.Thisishowinformationgetsdistortedintheabsenceof
themoderndaycommunicationservices.
Newspapersarereportingchillingstoriesoftheinjuredgettingbeatenupinambulancesand
thewindowsofambulancesbeingsmashedbyparamilitarytroops,andsometimesby
http://www.rediff.com/news/column/kashmirnotreachable/20160721.htm

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Kashmir:Notreachable!Rediff.comIndiaNews

protestersaswell.
DoctorsinKashmir'shospitalshavecomplainedaboutthelossofcrucialinitialminutesafter
theinjuries(orthelossofgoldenhour)withambulancesnotgettingunstoppableaccesson
Kashmir'sbarricadedroadsmannedbypolice,paramilitaryandprotesters.

ProminentHurriyatleaderMirwaizUmarFarooq'sanswertoaNewDelhibasedtelevision
anchor'squestionastowhyhereceivedacallfromPakistan'sBilawalBhutohadsharp
politicalundertoneswhenherespondedthatthePakistanileaderhadatleastreachedoutto
himwhileleadersinNewDelhididnoteventry.
TheMirwaizobservedthatNewDelhiorthestategovernmentinKashmironlyremembers
HurriyatleaderswheneverthesituationinKashmirgetsoutofcontrol.In2010andalso
duringthecurrentunrest,Hurriyatleaderswereformallyapproachedbythegovernmentsin
NewDelhiandSrinagarfortheirhelpinmanagingthesituation.
"Wearedubbedastraitorsandtroublemakersduringthesocalledpeace,"theMirwaiz
assertedthisrepeatedlyinrecentdays.
ThedialoguebetweenKashmiriHurriyatleadersandNewDelhistandssuspendedforyears
now.ThelasttimeNewDelhiengagedtheHurriyatleadersintalkswasin2005,andthe
attemptsatrevivingthesuspendedtalksin2009hadfailed.
IMAGE:ACRPFjawanasksascooteristtoreturnduringcurfewhoursin
Srinagar.Photograph:SIrfan/PTIPhoto
AtharParvaiz

RelatedNews:NorthKashmir,KashmiriHurriyat,Kashmiris,Shehzad,NewDelhi

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DiscussionBoard
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Pages|1|2Older>

Govtdecisionisfinal
byExpertComments(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201610:13PM|Hidereplies

Keepshut

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Messagedeletedbymoderator

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Govtdecisionisfinal
byExpertComments(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201610:13PM
Govtdecisionisfinal,keepshut

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Govtdecisionisfinal
byExpertComments(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201610:12PM
Govtdecisionisfinal,keepshut

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difference
bysuryanarayanpanigrahi(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201606:51PM
thedifferentfromLTTEandMuslimisLTTEwerefightingforsomeparticularplace.butMuslimfightingfortheir
religionwholeoverworld.

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Kashmir
byarungopalagarwal(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201605:21PM
SeparatistshavenotlearntfromLTTEwheretheyweretotallywipedoutfromZafnainSriLanka.
TheseseparatistsKashmirisaretounderstandthattheywillhavetocometoelectionprocessandwillhaveto
defeatOmarorMehbootatogetpowerinKashmir,MilitancyortheirdependencyonPAKwillnotyieldanyresult.

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kashmir'sproblemsaremadebytheircitizens
byRaghuramantr(ViewMyPage)onJul23,201605:15PM
Thisgentlemanputstheresponsibilityofcommunication,etc,entirelyonthegovernment.Whocreatedthe
trouble?Thecitizensshouldbehave.Theyshouldrespectthesecurityforceswhoareguardingtheborderforthe
kashmiris.Letthismanknowthatiftheyhadbecomepartofpakistantheirfatewouldhavebeenlikethatof
bangaladeshis.Atleastbangladeshwasfarawayandgotliberated.

Reply Forward|Reportabuse

NOPLACEFORPAKSYMPATHIZERSANDTROUBLEMAKERSININDIA
bydamodaranmohan(ViewMyPage)onJul22,201605:10PM|Hidereplies
WhilenoIndianishappyonthesituationinKashmirwithnearly40deathsofciviliansandinjuriestohundredsof
civiliansandsecurityforcesbutwefullysupportputtingdownofantinationalelementsinthevalleybythegovt.
withironhand.Thereshouldnotbeanydoubtinthevalleythatanyantinationalactivitieswillbetolerated.We
wishallsectionofsocietyinthevalleywillworkforspeedyrestorationofnormalcythere.Thereisnoplacefor
separatistsandPaksympathizerswithinIndia.

Reply Forward|Reportabuse
Re:NOPLACEFORPAKSYMPATHIZERSANDTROUBLEMAKERSININDIA
bydilliptripathy(ViewMyPage)onJul22,201605:52PM
DearDamodaran,
DonotthinkthatyouSanghisareonlybunchofpatriotsonthisearth.Allareconcerned.You
onlyuseKashmirasavotecatchingnet.Shameonyou.

Reply Forward|Reportabuse
Re:Re:NOPLACEFORPAKSYMPATHIZERSANDTROUBLEMAKERSININDIA
byRamaratnamSivasankaran(ViewMyPage)onJul24,201612:54AM
ShameonAntiNationalswhoareinvolvedinstonethrowingandweseetheactualpictures
inKashmirinWhatsApp.AgreewithDamodaranthattheyshouldbedealtwithfirmly.No
sympathyforAntiNationals.IftheydonotlikeIndiatheymustleave.
R.Sivasankaran

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