After Bin Laden, will China become US foe?

Srinagar, May 12:  (Writer-South Asia) The demise of Osama bin Laden offers the US an opportunity to declare an end to the War on Terror. In the view of many Americans, a strategic adjustment of US foreign policy appears inevitable. Besides, the US media is riddled with analyses of how to handle a rising China, reports Global times (5 May).

Do the prescriptions and analyses imply that US policy would aim to undo the development China has achieved in recent decades?

For a long time, the Chinese people have been haunted by the anxiety that, one day, the US will confront China. This has turned out to be unfounded – so far. In the perception of experts at home and abroad, the counter-terrorism war, mainly in the Arab world, has served to prevent the US from "disturbing" China during the past decade. As trouble continues to spread in the Middle East, the US may remain pinned down in the region for another 10 years.

These viewpoints, to some extent, are reasonable but exaggerate the situation. For the US, the concerns aroused by those authoritarian states in the Arab world are not comparable to developments rooted in the rise of China. Given that China's GDP may exceed that of the US within 10 years, this may become the primary factor to threaten the latter's global hegemony.

In a US versus China scenario, will confrontation be the only option? More  people in both countries answer in the negative. For the US, it would seem rational to maintain the status quo rather than provoke China, thereby triggering risks that would  hurt the US.

In the near future, the US may pour more money and resources in handling the rise of China. As a counterweight, China has enough power to prevent the revival of the kind of confrontation the US had with the former Soviet Union. China's peaceful rise might be unsettling to the US, but that has not spurred recasting of its foreign policy toward the world's most populous country. Besides, it is not a coincidence that China's pace of development has dwarfed the efforts of the US to contain China.

A down-to-earth approach would be to expand further the vibrant Sino-US economic cooperation, which is a powerful enough process to squeeze out any right-wing paranoia in the US. Periodic skirmishes between the US and China may be unavoidable, but downright deterioration in bilateral relations could be destructive to both.

No external force can stop China's rise. What China needs is confidence in maintaining its rapid development. A confident China can prevent any molehill of a dispute with the US growing into a mountain of conflict.

Doubtless, the US is an omnipresent superpower. The rise of China is certain to cause friction with the US, and this demands the prevalence of a peaceful and calm mindset on both sides. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once noted that if the US treats China as a foe, China would be a foe. Put differently, from the Chinese perspective: If China treats the US as a foe, the US would be a foe.

Muslim guards Hindus in stereotyped Pakistan

By Amar Guriro in Karachi, Pakistan, for Silent Heroes, Invisible Bridges.

It may not sound unusual that Murad Bukhsh Baloch takes pride in his religion and work, both.

Baloch is a unique Muslim who serves as caretaker of Hindu cremation ground and graveyard, depicting harmonious coexistence in a heavily stereotyped country like Pakistan.

Gujjar Hindu Cremation Ground, around 150-year-old burial-and-cremation facility for Sindhi Hindus located in Pakistan’s southern-most metropolis Karachi, is significant for half-million followers of the religion here.

Just inside huge main entrance gate, Murad has been watching the dead Hindus pouring in to the ground for a quarter of his life.

A mixed gathering of Hindus on the eve of a dear ones demise. Such ceremonies can be held at home as well as at cremation ground and graveyard. – Photo by Amar Guriro

Located in thickly populated Lyari town, the stronghold of late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, which she had chosen for her wedding party, Baloch is not only looking after this 22-acre graveyard and cremation ground but also arranging woods and other items required for cremation since 1990.

He passionately cleans and maintains statues lying in small temples inside the premises. He also lights up lamps inside the temple, an important religious rites.

“It’s pleasure to serve the alive and the dead,” he says, adding, “Islam teaches me co-existence and peace.”

With 3 million population as per 1998 national census, Hindus are the biggest religious minority of Pakistan.

Majority of Pakistani Hindus are living in Karachi, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur regions of southern Sindh province. Majority of them belong to lower castes, they work as landless peasants, ironsmiths or construction labour.

Besides looking after the arrangements, Baloch guards this prime land in the heart of the city. Like other Asian urban centers, Karachi is a rapidly growing city where land grab for high-rise buildings is the biggest challenge.

‘Targeted killings’ claimed thousands in recent years, some of them fell prey to land grabbers. Sprawling land of Gujjar Hindu Cremation Ground remains seriously vulnerable.

He smilingly remarks, “The Balochs known to be warriors and even before Pakistan’s creation, we have served the Hindus for decades in Karachi.”

Once Karachi was a Hindu dominated city and most businesses belonged to them.

In creation of Pakistan and modern day India in 1947, most of these Hindus migrated to the Hindu majority cities in Maharashtra state across the newly-carved border.

According to official data, today Karachi is home to over half a million Hindus. Except a few, Hindus mostly are poor and belong so-called lower castes. The poor ones bury their dead, while the rich and upper-caste Hindus cremate their deceased dear ones.

Besides performing a role of traditional pundit (religious leader) in the temple, guarding the land and taking care of other religious rites, Baloch also serves warden for ashes, which were kept in this graveyard.

Hindus burn their dead and preserve the ashes in a cremation ground. Each of 130 earthen pots or plastic jars here is tied with red-and-white cloth, wrapped in flower wreaths and tags carry various identification details in Sindhi, Urdu, Hindi or English language.

The facility is not exclusive to the Hindus as Buddhists, Japanese and Chinese communities also preserve ashes of their dead here.

Ironically, when family members of the deceased wanted to take their ashes to immerse them in holy water of Ganges in India, the Pakistani Hindus were denied such religious rites across the border after 1971.

After India actively patronized Pakistan’s Bengali to break from the country, bitterness soared to the highest point. Both India and Pakistan tightened visa procedures for each other.

Only recently, the Pakistani Hindus won this right from India and ashes Baloch had been guarding for the last 21 year were taken there to immerse in the holy Ganges.

While talking to this correspondent, he was continuously directing some men to keep an eye on the workers, as construction was underway in the cremation ground.

When he was a child, his family lived near the historical cremation ground where people used to spend their evening as there were not many public parks around back then.

As a child, Baloch witnessed several bodies being cremated in the ground.

“I used to wonder why Hindus burn their dead,” his elders used to tell him that it is an important rite of Hindu religion.

He still remembers image of Maharaj Durga Bharati, a Hindu pundit and caretaker of the cremation ground, who used to perform religious rituals during the funerals.

“Bharati was a nice man who distributed candies and toffees among the children and greeted everyone, even Muslims in this Hindu graveyard-cum-cremation,” recalls Baloch.

Nostalgic Baloch says those were good times when nobody discriminated on the basis of religion. People were indentified with their respective profession.

He doesn’t have any problem working here, thus he wants his son Ayaz Baloch to succeed him.

Dr Govind Ram Dheerani, secretary general of Pakistan Hindu Foundation, says, “I am happy to find Baloch as caretaker of the graveyard as only a Muslim can work properly here in a country like Pakistan.”

Though religious extremism is on the rise in Pakistan, since the partition in 1947, inter-communal relations in Sindh remained generally peaceful, and the province has never witnessed any major anti-Hindu violence. Knee-jerk reaction to extremist Hindus’ demolition of Babri Masjid in Indian city of Ayodhya in 1992 is the only incident of its kind.

The Hindus and Muslims of Sindh enjoy a shared cultural heritage besides common Sufi influences.

Though in recent years some of Pakistani Hindus migrated to different countries, but rarely Sindhi Hindus have left the country as majority of Sindhi Hindus still enjoy living in Pakistan.

Pandit Panch has a message for KPs :Return Home, There’s No threat in Valley: Asha Ji

Wussan (Kunzer), May 11: There is a batch of joyous villagers including women sitting in the courtyard to get a glimpse of the lady. Media men are anxiously waiting for her to get an interview. The otherwise silent house has become a centre of buzz, reports Wasim Khalid in Greater Kashmir.

Asha Ji, 52, grabbed spotlight in this tiny hamlet of north Kashmir by becoming first Kashmiri Pandit woman Panch in the ongoing Panchayat polls. Her win was being celebrated by the villagers on Tuesday. And her message was clear- the migrant Pandits should return to Kashmir as there was no security threat or vicious atmosphere as being projected.

“I want the Pandits living outside Valley to return immediately to their homeland,” Asha told Greater Kashmir. “There is no threat as such. I am a living example of that. Our family never left the Valley, neither we were harmed by anybody in the past 20 years. They should come home, not to the camps or colonies set up by the Government.”

She said both Muslim men and women encouraged her to file for the Panch post.
“I was not sure of my win. But it happened. All the votes which were cast in my favour belonged to Muslims,” Asha said. “I have no words to describe my happiness.”

Wusan village lying in the foothills of Pirpanchal range houses 295 families. Ten were Pandit families.
“Five families left,” she said. “However, we along with five others stayed back. The Muslim brethren did not allow all the Pandits out of the village to leave.”

In 1990s life was not easy in Wussan. Crackdowns, raids and violence went on unabated. The top three Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commanders- Muhammad Ahsan Dar, Shams-ul-Haq and Ashraf Dar belonged to nearby Kalipora village.

“The Pandits never even got a scratch. Even in last three agitations of 2008, 2009, 2010 we were not touched,” Asha said. “Life was tough, but Muslim brothers and sisters were with us.”

Asha actually belonged to Baderwah area of Jammu and was married to Radhakrishan in 1984. She has two sons, Suresh Kumar Bhat, a police constable, and Ashok Kumar. Apart from doing domestic chores, she works as a peon in a nearby school.

After the news of her becoming Panch came out, the entire village became jubilant. The villagers including women and men gathered at her house to congratulate.

“She is a good woman,” Abdul Qadir, a villager said. “And we wanted to vote for her.”
Asha said she would come to the expectations of the village and help in its progress. “Through Panchayat system many things can be resolved. We have no electricity, water or good roads. We can work in that direction.”

Asha belonged to Ward 5 of Wusan village, but she contested from Ward 4 as it was reserved for woman. Out of 98 votes polled in her Ward, she got 54 votes while her opponent Sarwah Begum got 43. One vote was rejected.

Sarwah Begum, the defeated candidate, however complained that there was bungling in voting.

“Asha belongs to (Agriculture Minister) Ghulam Hassan’s Mir’s party. They in connivance with administration and local polling officers were involved in rigging and bungling,” Begum said. “How is it possible that Ganaie Mohalla which was backing me and has largest number of votes will vote for Asha? I was not allowed to enter polling station but Asha was allowed during voting and as well as during counting. I demand re-polling for the post.”

Jammu and Kashmir armed struggle expands

Shri VT. Rajsshekar
Bangalore: Look at the big changes.Muslims masses are gradually joining Dalit and OBC parties led by Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Lalu Parsad, Sharad Pawar etc. Muslim leadership is dying.

Remember, how Shahabuddin was once called the "Second Jinnah" by the Brahminical media as though Jinnah sahib, the greatest leader, was bad. Remember how some Hindu MPs had shouted "Jai Shri Ram" in Indian Parliament soon after the Babri Masjid demolition. Muslims of the whole country were shocked at this but the Muslim MPs of Kashmir shouted back saying Allaho Akbar.

This was the turning point. Muslims were being slowly driven to the wall. They had no further space to go. Since the Cashmiri Muslims lost all hopes and were forced to turn violent. The got the support of the Muslims from Azad kashmir, Pakistan itself and also from Afghanistan. Each organisation formed its own independent fighting front and launched armed resistance. The J&K Police, Ikhwan  Renegades,  and security forces, all muslims, were forced to fight their own brothers. Then the Indian security forces were sent from Delhi. They also met with fierce resistance. After killing many and getting killed in large numbers, they realised athat those whome they were killing were Dalits and shudra sepoys and jawans, whose brothers inside India were themselves vistims of continuous Hindu atrocities.

About the author: Shri V.T. Rajshekar, its Editor and founder, Dalit Voice, the English fortnightly, has become the country's most powerful "Voice of the Persecuted Nationalities Denied Human Rights".

A veteran journalist, formerly of the Indian Express, powerful and fearless writer, V.T. Rajshekar, had to face the wrath of the ruling class, arrested many times, several jail sentences, passport impounded and subjected to total media boycott.

Published in several Indian languages including Hindi, Dalit Voice has become the sole spokesman for the entire deprived, dehumanised lot of India. Besides the Dalits, it looks after the interests of Backward Castes (35%) and the country's three persecuted religious minorities — Muslims 15%, Christians 2.5%, and Sikhs 2.5% — all victims of the Aryan Brahminical racism. Plus the women of all sections including the Hindu women.

In the course of the last 25 years, DV has become India's largest circulated journal of the oppressed, fighting against mainstream dailies and periodicals which have totally ignored the plight of the original inhabitants. Hence DV is rightly hailed as a new experiment in Indian journalism.

Only DV has diagnosed the disease of India which is an exception to all other countries in the world. If others have only "classes", India has not only the "class" but the world's most unique institution of caste system, which is the other word for racism. Here lies the success of DV. It goes to all world famous libraries, universities and invited many Afro-American delegations to India.

Its Editor is hailed as India's most original thinker, scholar and also philosopher. As India's most famous Dalit writer, he has authored over 60 world-famous books dealing with the problems of caste, ethnicity, Muslims, Christian, Sikhs, Marxism, Brahminism, Racism, Gandhism, Fascism etc.

Over 100 books have been published by the Dalit Sahitya Akademy, its sister organisation, also headed by the Editor.

His book, Dalit - The Black Untouchables of India, published from the USA (Clarity Press, Inc., Suite 469, 3277 - Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta, GA.30305, ISBN 0-932863-05-1 , 2003 - 2nd print), has gone into several reprints uniting for the first time the Blacks of the world with the Black Untouchables of India.

His most important book, Caste — A Nation Within the Nation, which has gone into second print, is a marvellous thesis offering an ingenious weapon of "caste identity" to defeat Brahminism, the destructive ideology of the ruling class. In the latest Parliament election, the oppressed castes of India used this weapon and defeated the country's Brahminical party (BJP).

DV becomes the future media of India where its dailies and periodicals are slowly dying. Because only DV offers a lasting solution as the authentic voice of the country's tallest titan, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Father of India.

Shri V.T. Rajshekar, 

Editor,

Dalit Voice
#101, Shiv Deep Residency, Shivbagh, Kadri, Mangalore- 575 002

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