Open letter to Mr. Omar Abdullah from a Liberal Marxist

Open letter to Mr. Omar Abdullah from a Liberal Marxist

Today I came across your article in Indian Express titled "You are only talking about owning land, need to own people too."
There seems to be a need to refresh your memory with history and then I would analyse your article in present context.

Srinagar(City of Lakshmi), was established by a king named Ashoka(Rajatrangini by Kalhana) long before the birth of Christ. It stood at the crossroads of the Silk Route and its Indian offshoot,i.e. Dakshinapath. Interestingly, it was also host to 4rth Buddhist Council under emperor Kanishka.

From 12th century to 1738, it remained under Muslim rulers, initially under Sultans and from 1580s under mighty Mughals and maintained an inclusive, secular society which Sheikh Sahab, your grandfather, referred to as Kashmiriyat.

From 18th century the area remained first under Sikh rule under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and later under Dogra rule. During last phase of the Dogras, Shiekh Abdullah emerged as a tall leader of the oppressed and his progressive and secular ideas brought him close to Pandit Nehru, arguably the most modern man of his time.

After, 15th Aug, 1947, while Raja Hari Singh was still procrastinating about accession to the Union of India, M.A. Jinnah (arguably the ablest evil man of his time), gave Pakistan's 1st gift to its beloved Kashmir, the Lashkar invasion of 1948. Though commanded by regular general, Jinnah maintained deniability. Baramulla Massacre was the 1st demonstration of Pakistan of its USP export. Under these circumstances, Raja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with the Union, like any other of those 560 Princely states, legally making it a part of the Union. It was magnanimity of Pt Nehru, who had a genuine belief in democratic values, that he chose to offer a plebiscite.

Points to note:-
1) Governor General of India , the supreme commander of armed forces as well as Chief of Army Staff.
2) India was an infant nation, still to undergo consolidation and pass the tests of the "Dangerous 60s".
Points to note about UNSC resolution 47:-
1) Precondition to any plebiscite is withdrawal of Pak's troops from the POK, and
2) India to be allowed to maintain defensive formations till such time.

Reasons why the plebiscite is impossible now :-
1) Pak will not withdraw from POK
2) The demography has been engineered by Pak in the POK and the Kashmiris when they began ethnic cleansing using terror tactics.

Sir, your grandfather chose to be the leaders of merely Kashmiris and not India when he betrayed his friend Nehru after John Foster Dallas's offer.

Policy of "owning land and not people", has been demonstrated a few Kashmiris in 1989 ethnic cleansing , just like their Pak masters in 1970-71.

After continuous and successive betrayal of the Union of India by the leaders of Kashmir, this one sided love produced following results:-
1) J&K has 10th highest HDI in India, better off than 67% Indians.
2) Per capita GDP is 9th highest in India
3) J&K has enjoyed Special Status in regard to Central Grants to an extent that 90% of state's finances are augmented by Center. Sir, your life is heavily subsidized by the Indian taxpayer.

Sir, born as you were with that silver spoon in your mouth, I find your ability to empathise with the suffering of the poor Kashmiri bewildering. Your locus standi to make that noise was merely your birth in a particular family. 

What you need to understand, just like every other Kashmiri :-
Much water has flown in Yamuna since 1948. Today's reality is that India evolved to be a powerful nation state, with well structured, professional and institutionalized agencies from the army to the NHRC.

1) If India would have wanted the land without its people, there would be no dispute.
2) Your medieval communal identity of dictates your insistence on maintaining Muslim majority in the state. Such communal exclusivism is inconsistent with the Basic Structure of Indian constitution.
3) India is an indestructible union of destructible states. It takes 273 & 2/3 present and voting in LS and RS to amend the India constitution and scrap article 370 and the Vale of Kashmir has only 3 seats out of 543 in LS.
4) Sovereignty is circumscribed by the capacity of state of exercise it. Sandwiched between PRC, Pak and India, to what extent will Kashmiris be able to exercise their sovereignty ?

As long as the likes of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik continue to enjoy the same freedom given in Part-3 of Indian constitution, I will be able to confidently tell you that you are wrong!

Regards,
Abhinav Srivastava

Let's run

I don’t normally intervene in the discussions in my head,
But I do care to stop by for their conclusions, for they decide my choices and opinions.
Maybe this is how the thoughts get processed for everyone, sometimes I wonder!
Or possibly the plain truth is that I am a little retarded or weird.

Anyways, under the normal operations the process works just fine,
Today was a very normal day, the same comfortably boring schedule,
Same old discussions in the same old hostel room, some philanthropists some psychopaths.
Some cigarettes, some caffeine and all other ingredients of our healthy life-styles, just the way I like it!
Despite the blissful homeostasis, I chose to destroy my own peace! 
I put forward a question to my head,
“It’s been the same for a while, I am not complaining, but seriously how about some change?”

 “It’s funny that you asked that, and your timing couldn't be worse.
Your world is moving upside down and you fail to notice any change.”
Unable to find any truth in the premise, I challenged Mr. Brain
“Life’s been the same for last four years, though I have considerably changed,
But so has everyone, and hence the frame of reference makes life the same.”

“Take a pause and think,
Think about those childhood friends, they always used to be your entourage
They are all gone, gone on their own pursuits, and those chilled beers you used to have in the summer evenings , will not be as sweet ever again.

Think about the recent years spent in this village you are in,
Think about the strangers, who gradually became part of your life,
Those jobless intellectuals who made the joblessness very worth your while.
They've got to run the races of their own, soon they will be gone too far.

Think about your family, your parents, they will be old soon,
They've carried you too long and now it’s your turn to carry them.

You aren't stagnant though, you have found a wall to fit in too!
All of you are bricks, struggling to find your own walls,
Some of you will fit in skyscrapers, while others will fly not so high,
The choice is pretty simple, choose your wall or get razed to the ground!”

This must be what they call an epiphany; my heart almost skipped a beat.
I just was a fool in the middle of a tornado, asking the life for a breeze.
“I don’t want to fit in a wall, maybe I should start looking for a higher ground.
But this only keeps me from turning into ashes; I am still disappointed with the change,
I still want the sweet taste of beer, the intellectual joblessness, the hypocritical debates,
The shared scarce late night cigarettes, the endless, pointless gaming sessions.”

“Perhaps you failed to understand the problem, or you got into the fallacies,
You are a fan of homeostasis, but everything around you is changing.
People are running, and you want to stay stationary,
Change kills the change, it’s you who is your frame of reference.Now let’s run!”

Our shadows taller than our soul.

Sometimes while standing under the nearby bridge,

Smoking a joint and listening to the rolling stones,

I see a figure chiseled off the haze.

It used to be awkward till today when I finally broke the ice.

“When I walk alone,

 I don’t wish to see a shadow that’s not my own.”

“I ain’t no shadow, just one of your thought personified.

The most beautiful thought you could ever think of!

I am something you always longed for, something that you were always denied,

It was me whom you mistook for the conspiracy for fate’s mirth.

And it was me whom you were looking for when you kissed all those girls.”

 That last sentence of hers brought a frown on my face;

A default expression for most men when they just don’t know what to say.

“What was I looking for?

Don’t give me those riddles, one thing that I don’t like to play.”

“You look scared, its not the first time though.

Every time I showed up in someone you quickly moved away.”

 “I think I have your name lady, say no more!”

 “Men have always worshiped what scared them,

That’s how we created our gods.

It’s not that I don’t worship you Love,

But it’s just to embrace you that I am afraid of.”

“Could you just show me your face once?

The euphoria is beginning to fade away.

I am not certain if I will see you ever again.”

“Caution here Love’s lover “, the enticing image spoke after a pause.

“I told you I am your most beautiful thought;

 Will you risk ruining the elegance by giving me a human form? “

Hard Earned Freedom

I thought that the break-up would set me free.

Free from the cliches, from the exaggerated displays of affection.

And from the obligations of uncomfortably long night calls.

But to tell you my true thoughts was a Herculean task.

hence I turned to an old friend, best in her class,

Some call her liquid courage, others call her moonshine.

Thanks to her, with her help I ended it at last.

I had been feeling guilty ever since,
Why? That had been an unanswered question.
Finally she gave me the solution last night,
I thank her for that conversation.


That feeling, the guilt, was rooted in her love,
And now its finally gone.
Thanks for hating me so much!
What hurts is the way you set me free,
Too bad that you never followed me.


You could have been remembered as an innocent childhood crush,
But its you who chose the oblivion's curse.
I will not throw away the diary you gave me,
And those cards and those flowers, they still seem so fresh.
But I will make sure that
They get covered with dust.

I could never love you.
And I am afraid that I won't be able to reciprocate your hatred too.


Its actually weird how love inspired the guilt,
And how hatred brought an end to my apprehensions.
Now fill my glass till the brim,
tonight I drink To my long awaited freedom.  

Beside the downtown model shop

Life has been good so far.
I think you have seen me before,
I sit right beside the downtown model shop.

I knew your father, a "celebrated" man.
He used to give me a rupee or two sometimes after having his daily paan.
I have not seen him lately though,
But that din't bother me much, beggars are busy you know!
And i remember your first time, 
You sneaked out very cautiously like drinking was a horrible crime.
Haven't you been coming here for about a decade son ?
I never had what they sell here but i believe its a lot of fun.
Every time you buy a navy cut, you gave me four bucks.
Such generosity I expect only from few.
Maybe that's why I always wait for you.

I also know about those special events in your life,
Your first job treat, your marriage , your promotions....
And some nights when you weren't here, nobody gave me a dime, 
It was hard to sleep on the cold street, and I had no money even to dine.


You might be wondering that why this old man is wasting your time,
I know you aren't jobless son, I will come straight to point.
Last night when you were on a call,
I could not help but overhear you.
You were standing right next to my spot.


Don't do this to him son, he is too old to be left alone,
Nature's justice is poetic, were you never told ?

 After that I could not say more,
And i came back to my spot.

The incident  was back again,
Faded anger got masked by fresh pain.

It wasn't just my bad luck, 
It seems to have crept into my family blood.


At distance stood my grandson, smoking another navy cut...

This is the end

He stood there with burning eyes.

His breath fast, the place echoed with his suffocating sighs.

“It must be how you feel when you’re dying”

He had been waiting for it from a long time,

What was real, what was a manifestation never really mattered throughout his life.

But this, this was different,

He spent his life looking forward to this.

“all my life has been dazed and confused, I wish I were sober when I were dying .“

Estrangements, rejections, blames were always welcomed by,

“A seat is definitely reserved for me there”, he thought every time after getting high.

But this quite wasn’t what he expected,

No smoke, no darkness, no snakes to bite,

“What the hell is this ? ”, he cursed for the last time with wounded pride.

“it’s the last opportunity, give me what u got,” he murmured to his mind,

“She never came till now, why would she come to your funeral?” was all that was going inside.

A few peep-holes to his childhood, his mom smiling when he walked for the first time,

Everything was fading, there was just one issue left to decide,

Will it be light forever or will it be finally de-light.

 “Maybe they weren’t just mocking when they called me insane”

The death finally was there, still he felt ashamed,

“t‘was God or Satan who stood by me my whole life?”

“oh no!, this can’t be hell.” he cried seeing so much light,

He stood aghast in heaven, still, with burning eyes.