[Reader-list] Please Think Before You Write the Subject Line

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear Shivam.

I was saddened to see that you had written "Hindu Terrorism in Jammu"  
in the subject line of your recent post. Also, I think your remark  
about KP "sanskars" in a previous post were not in good taste, I was  
saddened to read them.

Arguing against the oppression that is carried out in the Kashmir  
valley by the Indian state does not mean that we have to vilify any  
community. And even if communities get vilified in this debate by  
some of its participants, I expect you not to reciprocate in kind. As  
a journalist whose work I respect, I expect much better of you.

I must point out to you that nowhere in the report  that you had  
forwarded does it say that a 'Hindu' mob attacked the Congress  
politician, or that they were raising 'Hindu' slogans, (even if we  
assume that they were nominally Hindu) it merely says that they were  
raising 'Anti-Congress, PDP and NC" slogans.  And a mob attack,  
though reprehensible, is not an act of terrorism. To say it is to  
mirror the tactics of those who poison every discussion on these  
matters (all over the world) by adding the prefix "Islamic" to  
terrorism. It is as ridiculous to talk about Islamic or Hindu  
terrorism as it is to speak of Islamic of Hindu agriculture or mining.

Crowds in the Kashmir valley often raise, "Anti Congress, PDP and NC  
slogans" and they are generally Muslim crowds, and sometimes they set  
fire to vehicles and ransack homes. Just as it would be totally  
inappropriate to tag such an episode as an instance of "Muslim"  
terrorism, so, too I think it is totally inappropriate and uncalled  
for on your part to tag this report with the headline "Hindu  
Terrorism in Jammu"

This kind of rhetorical grandstanding does not help anyone, and I  
would urge everyone, especially Shivam, to be restrained and  
thoughtful while forwarding posts.

best,

Shuddha



On 22-Aug-08, at 3:17 PM, Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् wrote:

> Jammu: Protesters attack Congress leader
>
> 22 Aug 2008, 0045 hrs IST,TNN
> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ 
> Jammu_tense_protesters_attack_police_station/articleshow/3389045.cms
>
>
> JAMMU/SRINAGAR: There was no let up in violent protests against the
> revocation of forestland transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board on
> Thursday, as senior Congress leader and former J&K deputy chief
> minister Mangat Ram Sharma had a narrow escape when protesters
> attacked him at Bhagwatinagar in Jammu. ( Watch )
>
> SSP S D S Jamwal said Sharma was attacked while he was visiting a
> doctor with his grandson. "Protesters attacked his vehicle with rods
> and stones," he said. Sources said a cop saved Sharma from the
> rampaging mob and whisked him away on his scooter. Raising
> anti-Congress, PDP and NC slogans, the protesters set three cars in
> Sharma's cavalcade on fire. "Later, the mob also torched a nearby
> police nakka," a police officer said.
>
> Sharma has been at the receiving end of the Amarnath protesters; mobs
> have twice attacked his house in Jammu's upmarket Gandhi Nagar
> neighbourhood. Day curfew, meanwhile, was lifted from Jammu and
> Udhampur districts, while it was relaxed for varying periods in other
> areas of the province. Curfew was reimposed in Jammu after violent
> protests on Wednesday, the third and final day of Shri Amarnath Yatra
> Sangarsh Samiti (SASS)'s 'Jail Bharo Andolan'.
>
> Authorities relaxed curfew for three hours in Kishtwar town, the scene
> of communal clashes on August 12 that left two people dead and several
> others injured. "Curfew was relaxed for 11 hours in Samba," a senior
> official said.
>
> A large number of people turned up for Samiti's scheduled "funeral
> ceremony of Union government" programme in Jammu. Reports from across
> Jammu region said similar processions were carried out "to register
> protest against Centre's silence over the Jammu agitation".
>
> The Valley remained largely peaceful for the third consecutive day,
> after 10 days of violent street protests against the alleged economic
> blockade left at least 22 people dead.
>
> Police resorted to teargas shelling and mild baton charge to disperse
> protesters at Munawarabad in old Srinagar. "The protesters were trying
> to march towards United Nations Military Observers' office," an
> official said. He said no one was hurt in police action.
>
> Students continued to boycott classes and took to streets. "The
> indiscriminate use of power proves that New Delhi wants to suppress
> Kashmiris," Rafiqa Akhtar of prestigious Women's college said. She
> said college students' protests prove that even youth are against
> "imperialism".
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net