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| India-Pakistan |
| Hindu intifada |
| 2008-08-03 |
| By Kanchan Gupta Images can have a profound impact and make a lasting impression even on the most cynical among us. They can also act as a force multiplier in a conflict zone. Recall the photographs and television footage of teenaged Palestinian boys in Gaza and the West Bank confronting Israeli tanks armed with no more than shepherd's slings; of young men, their faces half-covered with handkerchiefs and kafiyeh, racing through billowing clouds of tear gas to hurl stones at soldiers armed with assault rifles; of middle-aged and old women violating police pickets and defying curfew. That was the first time we heard of a little-used Arabic word, intifada, which literally means to shake off but in recent times has come to mean a rebellion premised on the Biblical tale of David vanquishing Goliath, a relentless mass protest born of festering anger, deep-seated grievance and overwhelming, uncontrollable rage. We are witnessing a similar intifada in Jammu province where young and old, men and women, are locked in an unequal battle with the police -- and, since Friday, the Army -- demanding the immediate revocation of the Government order cancelling the transfer of 800 kanals of land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board. The land was meant for creating temporary facilities for pilgrims who trek to the Amarnath shrine every year, braving inclement weather and jihadi attacks. This time, it's a Hindu intifada, an outpouring of pent-up anger which has brought life in Jammu and other towns and villages in the province to a standstill. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 We are not going to be bullied by the Valley any more. Jammu wants a voice of its own. Jammu's Hindus will no longer tolerate oppression by Kashmir's Muslims," says a young protester, still in his teens, from his house in downtown Jammu. His voice has just begun to crack. The sound of righteous uprising |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-03 11:12 |
| #1 1 Kanal is equal to .125 acres or 20 marlas. This is an old British survey unit that is still used in Pakistan and apparently Jammu. So all this is over 100 acres of land. Geesh! They've really got them pissed off. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-08-03 10:39 |