Old Man With Young Ideas

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110911/spectrum/main4.htm

My Poetry

Inheritance of War

Landmines endanger life of villagers 
Teenager, old man lose limbs in recent blasts

Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, August 5 
Thirteen-year-old Zahida Parveen was moving around while her cattle were grazing when she unwittingly stepped on an anti-personnel mine and set the device activated. Within a fraction of a second, there was a huge blast and the girl was lying unconscious on the ground.

Mohammad Shareef, father of Zahida Parveen (right) who got injured after she stepped on a landmine in Jandrola village in Poonch. Tribune photos: Inderjeet Singh A few hours later, she regained senses only to find that she had lost a lower-limb for the rest of her life. Admitted in the ward no. 2 of the orthopedics department at Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu, she is struggling to come to the terms with the rude reality. The incident happened on the evening of July 22 at the border village of Jandrola in Mandi tehsil of Poonch near the LoC. The mines randomly planted by the military have reportedly already killed at least five persons of the village. Mohammad Shareef, victim’s father, rued: “Army personnel were present near the spot, but they did not attend to the badly injured child lying unconscious there.  When I reached the spot, they were standing there as mute spectators”. An inconsolable Shareef, who is a small farmer, recollected: “I pleaded with junior army officers for a vehicle to rush my daughter to the hospital, but they were unmoved”. “With a great deal of efforts, villagers hired a private vehicle and only then she could be shifted to the district hospital and then to Jammu,” he said and added: “Gazing at her amputated leg, my dearest daughter laments as to why is she alive to live like a handicap”. “She was very excited after she got promoted to class VIII this year. But now she won’t be able to go to school,” he added. The girl was visibly choked with emotions and could not say anything. Shareef claimed to have spent Rs 30,000 on her treatment without any help from anyone. In the adjoining ward lies another mine victim, Mohammad Hussain (60) of Shahpur village in Haveli tehsil. He had been a porter with the Army for 15 years. On July 22, he was engaged in a work by the Army. He was cutting the bushes when a landmine went off. Though his right leg remained intact, his left leg below knee had to be amputated.  “I was shifted to the Civil Hospital at Poonch by the Army. Thereafter, my family shifted me to this hospital,” said Hussain. “The Army authorities had engaged me and used to mark my attendance but they were irregular in paying salary to me,” he alleged and added, “They have not extended any financial help to me so far”. “I am useless for the rest of my life,” he regretted and alleged, “They (Armymen) knew that the area had been mined which is why they did not clear the area themselves and asked me instead”. Like Zahida, he is also not the only person who became a victim of a landmine in his locality. “There are many others who have lost limbs in such blasts. They have also not got any relief from the government. Though the Army has assured to provide the job of a porter to my son, I will not allow him,” he added. (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110806/jkplus.htm#1)

Operation Sadbhavana:Whose responsibility is it anyway?

Public facilities created by Army in state of neglect  
Ashutosh Sharma 
Tribune News Service
Jammu, July 26


The facilities and infrastructure developed by the Army in militancy-hit areas under Operation Sadbhavana have failed to serve the purpose, as these seem to be nobody’s responsibility.



While the facilities like health centres and vocational training centres are in a state of utter neglect, the Army claims that the public utilities are normally developed under its goodwill mission on the demand of local people. Thereafter, it says, the civil administration is responsible for the management and maintenance of these facilities.


On the contrary, the civil administration cites limited resources and manpower and blames the Army for working in an unplanned way without taking it into confidence. Consequently, the lack of cooperation and coordination between the two has resulted in a huge waste of public money.


For instance, the Public Health Centre at Khardi Karmarda in Poonch, which was set up in 2005 by the Army, is barely 2 km from a well-furbished government health centre in an adjoining village.


Villagers say the health centre could not remain functional beyond three to four months after its inauguration as the staff provided by the government’s Health Department stopped visiting it.


“When the Army procured land from me for the health centre, I was promised that one member of my family would be provided a job there. But the promise was not fulfilled,” said Sher Khan. He added that, “After the staff deputed at the health centre stopped coming here, I took back the possession of my land.”


Sher Khan lives near the health centre’s building and has been using it for storing fodder and agricultural implements.
Locals say there are many other health centres constructed by the Army in the area which are also in a state of neglect. There are computer centres and vocational training centres, which are non-functional. There are complaints that equipment have been stolen from many centres. Also, the micro hydroelectric projects set up by the Army on traditional watermills are lying defunct.


“We are just facilitators. It is the responsibility of the civil administration to take care of public facilities and infrastructure after the Army builds them,” said a senior Army officer, wishing not to be quoted.


“It is not practically possible for the Army to sustain the infrastructure and public facilities developed under Operation Sadbhavana as the Army cannot take over the functions of the civil administration. It can only help the civil administration in the problem areas,” he added.


Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Ajit Kumar Sahu said, “To construct a building is quite easy, but sustaining it for catering to public demands is a different thing. The second part involves funds, manpower and many other issues. Whenever the Army builds a building or other public facility, it does not take the district administration into confidence.”


“The Army approaches local people or village heads before creating such facilities, but it never approaches us for a no objection certificate. It carries out the entire exercise in a very unplanned manner,” he added. 

Border Residents

LIFE BEHIND 

BARBED WIRES 

The fence along the border with Pakistan, which has been erected several kms behind the zero line, has left hundreds of Indian villages sandwiched. Residents of such villages, which are almost cut off from the rest of the country, consider themselves prisoners in their own villages, reports Ashutosh Sharma from Jammu & Kashmir

Life is tough in Indian villages and more

 so in the border villages. It becomes even tougher in areas caught between the barbed fence put up by the Indian security forces on the border with Pakistan that runs through many districts of Jammu region.

The fence at the border was erected at a time when there used to be heavy shelling and infiltration bids by terrorists from the Pakistani side in the aftermath of the Kargil war. However, the fence was erected several kilometres behind the zero line. It has virtually cut off areas in between from the rest of the country.


For people living in these villages, it is like crossing a border in the form of the fence to enter their own country for basic facilities like health, education and other administrative works in a tehsil or district office. Their freedom of movement has been severely curtailed by the fence as they believe that they have become prisoners in their own country.


The size and population of such villages is not small. One such village Bhagyal Dara, which is 15 km from Poonch district headquarters, has two panchayat constituencies - Degwar and Bhagyal Dhara.


There are hundreds of such villages which have been separated from the rest of the country due to the erection of the fence.


Due to security reasons, the civil administration has a limited role in the affairs of residents living in such “barbed corridors”. The villagers are under constant surveillance. At the same time, they live under constant fear of shelling from the Pakistani side.


There are gates at the fence which are the entry and exit points for the villagers. The gates are manned by soldiers. The fence looks like a barbed barrier comprised of two rows of fencing and coils of concertina wires which are usually 12-15 ft in height and nearly 10 ft in width. During the night, the fence is electrified whereas the areas between the fence and the border are usually mined.

Says a newly elected village head on the condition of anonymity: “At such gates, the villagers are frisked thoroughly and security men rummage through their belongings. Thereafter, their identity is established on the basis of identity cards issued to them before they are allowed to go ahead. The whole drill puts children and women to severe stress and vulnerable to indiscreet body touch. They go through the agony of invasion of their privacy every day, a price that they pay to be at their own place”.



The Army has issued identification cards to the villagers. If one loses it or does not have it for any reason, he or she might be in a serious trouble as the Army does not recognise any other proof of identification.


“Our people are usually patted down in the name of security checks. Young soldiers usually indulge in groping or other acts that go against respecting the dignity of our women and girls,” he adds. Parents in such villages do not send their girls to study beyond middle level because of the fence and security checks at the gates.


“There should be woman cops at the gates. If the government cannot shift the fence, it must depute woman personnel,” says a student of Government Degree College, Poonch, who comes from one such village.


People living in these villages are cut off socially as well. It is difficult for a relative to visit them. “At the time of marriage or other social functions, we face a lot of problems,” rues a resident of Bhagyal Dhara, who runs a small shop in Poonch.


“The visitors are permitted after going through an excruciating exercise. First, the security personnel at the gate call the villager concerned for the verification of the visitor and only after that the visitor is allowed to enter the area on the responsibility of the villager,” he adds.


The same procedure is followed when the visitor leaves the area. The family members of villagers working abroad too face the same problems for visiting their near and dear ones or their ancestral home. They have to seek identification proof from the local police. “It seems going to Pakistan is easier than visiting our own homes where we were born,” say people living in such a situation.


The civil administration maintains that journalists can visit any forward village without any restriction, but in reality, they are not allowed inside the villages by the Armymen guarding the gates.


The writer had been to the border district of Poonch to interview scores of victims belonging to villages like Kerni, Degwar and Bhagyal Dhara, who had not got justice despite judgments passed in their favour by the Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission at different points of time. But unfortunately, he was never allowed to go in despite hard efforts.


Mohammad Matloob Khan, additional deputy commissioner, Poonch, maintains that no authority letters are issued to mediapersons to visit villages across the fence. “Those villages are part of India and any person can go there without any check. Nobody has the authority to stop you,” he says.


People living in villages across the fence not only lack basic amenities like roads, transportation, health centres, water and electricity, but they have also been denied human rights and civil liberties.


“In the evening gates, are closed for the villagers. If the villagers have to take a serious patient to the hospital during the night, they have to seek permission, which sometimes takes long. Delays prove fatal at times,” says a senior resident who works in the city and returns to his village well before the sunset.


According to Kerni residents, only one member of each family is allowed to stay inside the fence during the night. In 1990, they were shifted to Qasba village outside the fence by the government as there was a war-like situation. The villagers have their agricultural lands inside the fence and therefore they visit Kerni every afternoon.

Villagers coming out of the fenced area in Kerni.

Such villagers work in their fields the entire day and in the evening, they return to their kutcha houses in Qasba. It has been their daily routine for the past 21 years.


Even Qasba village is not connected through road. To reach the city, the people have to trek down three kilometers to board some passenger vehicle.
Border residents do enjoy relaxation in government jobs on the basis of certificates issued to them by the Revenue Department, but the rate of employment is negligible.
Kerni village has a population of more than 600, but ironically, there is only one ex-serviceman, a working clerk in government department and an ReT teacher. Rest of the villagers are BPL (below poverty line) cardholders.


“Due to lack of educational facilities for our children, they are not able to study beyond class VIII, how can they get government jobs despite reservation,” said a villager, adding that those who have land in border villages but live in cities avail all benefits accorded to border residents by the government.


Going by the annual reports of the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission, the rate of human rights violation is many times higher in such villages as compared to other conflict-ridden and insurgency-hit areas of the state.


“Many people belonging to these villages have lost their lives and limbs in war-like situations during nineties. Besides barbaric atrocities by militants, there are cases of custodial deaths, extra constitutional killings, fake encounters, disappearances, torture and harassment at the hands of security forces,” says human right activist Sardar Kamal Jeet Singh, who claims to have filed more than 850 complaints of rights violation with the commission.


“Their victimisation has happened on many accounts. They have suffered due to repeated wars, insurgency and counter insurgency operations. But they are also victims of bureaucratic apathy as most of them have not been compensated or inadequately compensated,” he says, adding, 


“Even such cases of relief and compensation which were recommended to empowerment committee of the Homes Department by the State Human Rights Commission have not been settled. Action taken reports or proposed action taken reports are hardly submitted to the commission by the departments concerned”.


“Many victims have stopped visiting the office of the deputy commissioner after they did not get compensation or relief for decades,” he added.


“The fence was erected with an aim to discourage infiltration and smuggling. Now that the guns have fallen silent and normalcy has been restored, the Ministry of Defence in consultation with its counterparts should push the fence to the actual border so that the villagers living across it are not barred from enjoying their natural rights and civil liberties,” said a sarpanch of one such villge, who is presently living in his another home in Poonch town.


“If it is not possible then we should be rehabilitated somewhere else. For how long our generations will suffer because of hostility between the two countries?” he asks.


Aiyaz Jaan, Poonch MLA, says 90 per cent of his constituency runs along the LoC. “I am aware of the problems of the people who have been living across the fence. On my proposal, the Army has started shifting the fence to the zero line in my constituency. The work is going on in the Sabzian area and 20 per cent of the work has been accomplished so far. The remaining may get done in the next couple of years. We need to understand that it will happen in a phased manner,” he maintains.


"I have constituted village-level committees in the areas across the fence and it is ensured that a local girl or woman is deputed along with the Army at the gates. However, it is not possible in the far-flung and inaccessible areas for obvious reasons,” he says, adding, “The Army has been very helpful to the local residents. Where the civil administration fails, the Army comes into play. I had requested the Army to enhance the number of gates at the fence. Last year, they added four more gates for the convenience of residents”.

Farmers work in fields across the fence along
the LoC in Jammu. Tribune photos

“The Chief Minister has assured me to enhance the Border Development Fund which is likely to solve most of their problems,” he says, and adds: “I have also asked the government to accrue benefits of all welfare schemes like Indira Aawas Yojana and issuance of BPL ration cards to the border residents. One of such proposals that aim for the creation of health and educational facilities in the villages across the fence is lying with the Finance Department”.


“The villagers of Kerni would be allowed to live inside their houses in a phased manner. We have completed two phases, another four are remaining,” he adds.


(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110727/jkplus.htm#1)

Justice Denied?

Sarfraz says 
his father was 
killed by 
the Army 
while he was 
engaged in 
forced labour 

Son seeks fresh probe into father’s death 


Ashutosh Sharma                                                    Tribune News Service
Jammu, July 22
A resident of Islamabad village in Haveli tehsil of district Poonch, Sarfraz Khan has sought re-investigation into the death of his father, who had died while working for the Army.
Sarfraz says, “The death of my father affected the family irrevocably.” He rues that in spite of recommendations by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), his family has not got ex-gratia relief or any other help from the government.


His father, Mohammad Sarwar Khan Rathore, died on August 19, 1999. “The police safeguarded the accused Armymen during investigation portraying the death as accidental. But those present on the spot, who are still alive, say that he was killed. I appeal to the authorities to order a fresh probe in the case.”


“My father was on way to Poonch from Pelara village. When the bus he was travelling in reached Arai Nallah, some officers of RR forcibly evicted him from the bus along with some other passengers and ordered to carry ammunition boxes to Gun Point (an Army post),” claimed Sarfraz adding, 


“When my father refused, the infuriated Armymen compelled him to lift two boxes of ammunition instead of one. After walking some distance, my father dropped the boxes as he was not able to walk with the load.”


“Following this, an Armyman bludgeoned his head with the butt of rifle, killing him on the spot,” he alleged.


“My father was a dignified man. He had never done any physical work at home,” he said and added, “My father even asked the Armymen to take money from him to engage some labourer for the same work and let him go. But they were adamant.”


The police in its rejoinder to the SHRC said Sarwar died of head injury while serving the Army. 


“Army officers of RR stopped the bus and requested the passengers that if anybody was willing to serve the nation by helping the Army in carrying ammunition/luggage to Gun Point. On this, some male passengers, including Mohammad Sarwar, picked up ammunition box willingly and followed other persons,” the police told the commission. 


“Unfortunately, after walking a few feet, he lost his balance due to which the box he was carrying, injured posterior of his head causing death on the spot,” the police said.


The commission in its judgment in June 2008 upheld the police version and maintained that he died while serving the Army. But it recommended that the next of the kin of the deceased be given a relief of Rs 1 lakh, besides a government job on compassionate grounds. 


“We have not got any kind of relief so far,” Sarfraz said and added, “I had to leave the school soon after my father’s death. One of my sisters, Shahyaza Banoo is suffering from paralysis of both legs whereas another sister, Saydha Banoo has lost her mental balance.”

LoC

Loc Divides Mother and Children 
PoK woman awaits passport, visa to meet family in Poonch 


Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service 
Jammu, July 21


A woman from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), married in Poonch district, who was allegedly deported to Pakistan more than a year ago, is awaiting the issuance of a fresh passport and visa for visiting her family. Her four children and husband here have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart to let the family reunite.
Wahida Tabasum (44) from Muzaffarabad in PoK married Shah Pervez, a resident of Khaith village in the Sawjian area of Poonch district, in 1985 when Pervez, along with his family,went there to meet his relatives. She came to Poonch with Pervez in 1986.She was living in Poonch on an extended visa and reportedly returned to Pakistan on the expiry of her passport on April 8 last year by the Lahore-Delhi bus service.

“During her stay here, my mother applied for Indian citizenship thrice, but the Indian government rejected her applications,” said Khurram Mehmood (22), her eldest son.

He added that, “My mother is at present living at her maternal house at Qila Road, Muzaffarabad. Whenever she talks to us over the phone, she seems to be in a miserable condition. She is desperate to meet us. She always cries while talking. I and my siblings are equally distressed as the wait is becoming too long.”

“My mother says the Indian Embassy in Pakistan is not processing her documents for unknown reasons,” Mehmood said. He appealed to the Prime Minister and his Pakistan counterpart to intervene to help his mother unite with her family. Wahida’s youngest son, Kashif Omar, is 15 years’ old.

“A lot of stress is being laid on people-to-people contact among SAARC countries. But it is a question of family-to-family contact,” said general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Pushkar Raaj. “Also, it is a human issue. We have military, political and strategic issues with Pakistan, but they need to be resolved at different levels. This is an issue pertaining to a divided family and hence it should be addressed without any reference to the outstanding issues. Differences between nations over policy matters should not make their nationals suffer,” he added.

“It’s the rarest of rare cases as the family is divided by the LoC,” chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission Syed Bashir-ud-Din said, adding, “Government should adopt a very positive approach to reunite the family within parameters of paramount laws." 

When contacted, SSP,CID, Special Branch, Jammu, Gurvinder Kaur,who is in-charge of the Foreigners Registration Office,said Wahida had not been deported. “Her passport had expired and she went to Pakistan on her own on an emergency passport which she got from the Pakistan Embassy in Delhi. A new passport is to be issued by the Pakistan Government as she is a national of that country and only the visa is to be issued by the Indian Embassy in Pakistan.”

“We have not received her visa for verification so far,” she said, adding, “Wahida was not wanted in any case pertaining to anti-national or subversive activities.”

Military Abuse

Death Due To Torture By Army

8 years on, SPO’s family still awaits relief  

Ashutosh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 18

Trials are non-starters and investigations long pending in criminal cases like torture and extra-judicial killings involving the security forces in the militancy-hit areas of the state.

It is not only the civilians, who are the victims, sources of the security forces have also fallen prey to the brutality of the Army.

Even eight years after an SPO with the state police died due to the alleged torture by the Army, his family is still awaiting justice. Despite recommendations by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Home Department, the family has not got any ex-gratia relief so far. Also, the police has failed to produce a challan against the accused for want of evidence.

Tasveer Hussain (26), an SPO posted in Poonch district, was picked up by Army personnel on August 23, 2003. He was beaten mercilessly, resulting in his death in a hospital four days later.

In its judgement of November 10, 2008, the SHRC stated that Tasveer, a resident of Baghyal Dara in Haveli tehsil of Poonch district, was picked up by jawans of 2 JAKLI. “He was beaten mercilessly and later handed over to the police. He was admitted to hospital where he died after some days,” the SHRC said. It added, “The police registered an FIR, but till date the accused had not faced any trial.”

“This is a brute kind of human rights violation by the Army. It is recommended to the state government that a relief of Rs 1 lakh with benefits under SRO-43 be given to next of kin of the deceased,” the SHRC said.

The members of Tasveer’s Family said he was not happy with his monthly salary of Rs 1,500 and wanted to go to Saudi Arabia to earn money. They said the Army, however, wanted him to work for it as a source in the counter-insurgency operations.

“Tasveer did not agree with the Army as he knew about the fate of some of the local Army sources,” said Mohammad Hussain, brother of the deceased SPO. He added that, “This prompted the Army to use coercive measures.” “The state Home Department issued an order on May 5, 2009, granting ex gratia, but it has not been paid to us so far,” he added.

SSP, Poonch, Ashkoor Ahmed Wani said, “The investigation in the case is going on. The challan could not be produced against the erring Army personnel for want of evidence.” He expressed helplessness saying, “With the passage of time it becomes difficult to collect evidence. Army units shift to different locations while the Army officers concerned retire.”

“There are cases of military abuse against the security forces in the police records, but their number is limited,” he said.

Human Rights Activists

S.Kamaljeet Singh

Human rights activist fears for life, seeks security 

Ashutosh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 17


A leading human rights defender from Poonch district is living in a state of uncertainty and insecurity these days. On repeated recommendations of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), the activist, Kamaljeet Singh, was given security cover by the police in 2008, but it was withdrawn more than a year ago.


Since the eruption of militancy in the state, Kamaljeet has filed more than 850 complaints about serious human rights violations with the commission, including cases of military abuse, extra-judicial killings, custodial deaths, torture, disappearance and forced labour by the security forces.


“The government has been adopting arm-twisting measures to silence my voice,” Kamaljeet said, and added, “In Jammu and Kashmir, there are so many repressive laws in force, which give unbridled powers to the security forces without any accountability. Because of the nature of my work in a conflict zone, I am receiving threats from not only militants, but also the security forces and intelligence agencies. I fear for my life.”


“Kamaljeet Singh has been taking a lot of interest in cases of human rights violations and helping the people,” observed former chairperson of the SHRC MY Kawoos.


Kawoos had recommended to the police to provide him security. “He feels insecure and is getting threats for highlighting the human rights violations.The SSP, Poonch, is directed to provide him security because the poor and downtrodden need him.”


In 2008, the acting chairperson of the SHRC, Habibullah Bhat, had also recommended to the SSP, Poonch, to provide security to Kamaljeet. “He is in pursuit of a noble job and has been feeling somewhat insecure. The district administration should take care of his personal security.”


“All over the world, human rights defenders are under constant threat from the security forces as well as non-state actors. They work under extremely difficult circumstances. The state government must look into this particular case seriously and ensure that all possible measures are taken to protect Kamaljeet,” said the general secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Pushkar Raaj, adding, “This will go a long way in instilling confidence among not only human rights activists, but also working journalists and members of the civil society, who are fighting for the protection of the basic human rights.”


SSP, Poonch, Ashkoor Ahmed Wani, said: “Militancy has almost ended in Poonch district.So, there is no security threat at all. His security was withdrawn more then a year ago as during the review, there was found to be no threat to him.”

Indo-Pak Friendship

Jammu singer mobilises funds for Faiz Ghar, Lahore


Jammu, July 11 
When a school going girl and budding singer of Jammu, Seema performed before legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz during one of his visits to Punjab, it got her accolades and a congratulatory note from the poet. The child artist was deeply touched by the encouraging gesture of Faiz Sahab.

Moneeza Hashmi (left), daughter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Seema Anil Sehgal. A file photo

About the Singer

Seema is  eldest daughter of Sahitya Akademi awardee and eminent Dogri poet Yash Sharma. She is presently settled in Mumbai.

In February 1999, the then Prime Minister, A B Vajpayee presented her solo album “Sarhad” dedicated to Indo-Pak amity as a national gift to Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharief during Lahore summit. The album was based on poetry of Jnanpith awardee Urdu poet, Ali Sardar Jafri.

Ashutosh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 11

When a school going girl and budding singer of Jammu, Seema performed before legendary Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, during one of his visits to Indian Punjab, it got her accolades and a congratulatory note from the poet. The child artist was deeply touched by the encouraging gesture of Faiz Sahab.

Many years down the line, the same Seema, now Seema Anil Sehgal, noted peace singer of the sub continent has been paying melodious tribute to the romantic- revolutionary poet by singing concerts in USA on the invitation of Moneeza Hashmi, younger daughter of Faiz, whose birth centenary is being celebrated around the world. 

While her next concert is scheduled on July 16 at Maryland in USA, Seema held first concert at Long Island in New York on June 25. On the occasion, Bisaat-e-Yaran, a music album of Faiz sung and composed by Seema was also released.

The funds raised through the concerts and sale proceeds of the album would be used for the upkeep of ‘Faiz Ghar’ – a non profit organization run in Lahore, Pakistan to keep the memories of the poet alive

Talking to the Tribune over telephone from New York, Seema said: “Faiz Ghar is a project of the Faiz Foundation Trust at Model Town, Lahore where Faiz lived his last years. It aims at promoting the humanistic and progressive ideals of the late poet.  It is also a platform for the lovers of Faiz to see the manuscripts and other personal memorabilia of the poet, get materials for their research works related to Faiz besides interacting with fellow artists from across the world”

“Poetry and music recognize no physical boundaries created by the man. My music and the poems of Faiz belong to the people from all nations irrespective of their caste, creed or religion,” she commented.

The opening concert was the highlight of the three-day-long International Urdu Conference, organized by Khalil-ur-Rehman, an Urdu journalist of the US and a leading light of the conference and presided by Dr Taghi Ahmed Abidi, an Urdu scholar based in Canada.

“Seema is the only Indian singer who is making her contributions to raise funds for Faiz Foundation Trust,” said her husband, Anil Sehgal, who is accompanying her through the tour.

Anil said, “When Moneeza heard Seema singing at New York, she was so enthused that she elicited a promise from the singer to sing for Faiz Ghar in Pakistan later in this year.”

Revealing an interesting Faiz-Jammu Kashmir connection, Anil said: “Faiz shared a special relation with J&K. He was a close friend of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, grand father of Omar Abdullah, chief minister of the state, who solemnized the marriage of Faiz with Alys, a British journalist with Leftist leanings. During the wedding, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah elicited a promise from Faiz that he will not marry another woman as long as Alys was living and married to him. As we all know, Faiz kept his wedding vow.”

“It is interesting to note that Bilqis Christobel, the other sister of Alys, married Mohammed Din Taseer, a friend of Faiz. Their marriage too was solemnized in Kashmir by none other than the great Urdu poet Allama Iqbal who was a close friend of Taseer,” he added.

About 'Bisaat-e-Yaaran', he said: “This album contains ghazals and nazms of Faiz. The masterpiece of the album seems to be ghazal: Jamegi kaise bisaat-e-yarraan…, which gives the album its name. This ghazal has been exquisitely composed in Raag Pilu and very evocatively sung by Seema.”

Prof Jagannath Azad Pak’s first national anthem was written by Indian  Ashutosh Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, August 15 "Aey sarzameen-i-Pak zarrey terey hein aaj sitaron sey tabnak! Roshan Jeh kehkashan sey kahin aaj teri khak!!."("Oh the land of Pakistan, each particle of yours is star-lit. Even your dust seems brightened like a rainbow.”) Prof Jagannath Azad, a Lahore-based Hindu poet and scholar of Urdu who wrote the first national anthem of Pakistan, has more than 70 books to his credit but his dream of getting “Rudad-e-Iqbal”, anthology of Iqbal’s philosophy and poetry could not go into press due to his sudden death in 2004. The manuscript of the anthology is with his son, Adarsh K Azad, a businessman based at Greater Kailash in Jammu. “I am willing to spend as much as possible but none of the scholars or academicians from an Urdu background is evincing interest in getting the anthology published,” Adarsh rued. “My father would often recall that he was surprised after his colleagues in Radio Pakistan, Lahore, approached him and told him that Jinnah Sahib wanted him to write the national anthem. They confided that “Qaid-e-Azam wanted the anthem to be written by an Urdu-knowing Hindu. Azad was of firm belief that Jinnah Sahib wanted a secular Pakistan," he recalled. “He wrote the national anthem on short notice --- just two days before Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 and it was approved by Jinnah in a few hours. It was sung for the first time on Pakistan Radio, Karachi, which was then the capital of Pakistan,” he said. However, his song remained as Pakistan’s national anthem for a year and a half. After Jinnah’s death, a song written by the Pakistani poet Hafiz Jallundri replaced the first national anthem. "Due to communal tension in both east and west Punjab, my father’s friends suggested to him to migrate to India,” he said and added, “Consequently, he settled in Delhi in September 1947 and later came to J&K on the request of Sheikh Abdullah.” “My father-in-law always supported India-Pakistan friendship like his counterparts and friends in Pakistan Qatil Shefai, Josh Malihabadi and Hafeez Jallundri,” said social activist and Azad’s daughter-in-law, Reenu Azad. “He was a simple person, always engrossed in his thoughts. He was a non-political person with a firm faith in Hindu-Muslim unity. His ideology has great influence on us and it keeps guiding us to stand for humanity,” she added. The head of the Urdu Department in the University of Jammu, Prof Soab Inayat Malik, said, “He was the first researcher who introduced Iqbal in the right perspective in India. Azad discovered several facts about Iqbal and disclosed that Iqbal belonged to a Kashmiri Pandit (Sapru) family. He was given the title of Hafiz-e-Iqbal. He brought J&K on the literary map of world and was considered as ambassador of Jammu University. “Imtiyaz-e-Pakistan, the highest literary award of Pakistan, was conferred upon him during Zia-ul- Haq’s regime,” he said. Speaking over his unpublished work, Malik said, “The department is willing to offer any services to Azad’s family and we would be highly grateful to them if they seek any kind of help for its publication.”

Psychiatric Patients

Chunni Lal

Shackled for 25 yrs at home, not in jail 

Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service
SunderBani, September 6


Chunni Lal has spent half of his age in chains. It is not in some dark dungeon of a jail but in the compound of his home. Chunni Lal has been suffering this inhuman treatment at the hands of his wife and son who say he is a “lunatic” and keep him tied to “feel secure”.


Lal has spent the rainy season tied to a tree but this is not a new experience for this poor soul as he has been going through this ordeal for the past more than 25 years - irrespective of searing summers, chilly winters or storms. While neighbours doubt if he really was mentally unwell, Chunni has been languishing in inhuman conditions in the absence of proper medical and psychiatric treatment.


This is not happening in some relatively remote pocket of the state but in Thanda Pani area of Sunder Bani tehsil, 85 km from winter capital of the state.


When this correspondent visited the home of Chunni Lal during late evening hours, none of his family members were present there. His address could only be guessed from his chains, occasionally clanking through the darkness.


Dressed in rags, a strong, white-bearded man in his mid-fifties was tied to a tree about 50 meters away from the house amidst wild vegetation of grass, bushes and trees. In the name of company, he had a herd of cattle squatted nearby.


When asked, he enthusiastically told his name. When told that he would be photographed, he stood up and posed with his hands clasped against chest showing his chains. “They say I am mentally ill, that’s why I am in chains,” he remarked.


Neighbours, on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that he was untied on the marriage of his son about four years ago. “He did not cause any harm to anyone during the marriage ceremony,” they said, adding: “Thereupon, he was enchained again”.


When asked if he was ever taken to a psychiatric hospital for the treatment, they expressed ignorance and said they did not want to intervene in anyone’s personal affairs.

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090907/j&k.htm#14)

Chunni Lal TRIBUNE IMPACT Chained Chunni Lal freed, probe begins  Ashutosh Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, September 11 The long ordeal of Chunni Lal, who had been chained to a tree in Sunder Bani in Rajouri district, looked a changed man today.  He was released, had a bath, hair cut, clean-shaved and dressed in a clean kurta-paijama. The Tribune had reported the plight of Chunni Lal in its column on Monday: Shackled for 25 yrs at home, not in jail. An investigative team led by Sunder Bani tehsildar Vijay Kumar today visited the home of Chunni Lal. Local confided that the police was aware of the matter, but was reluctant to intervene until the Deputy Commissioner ordered an inquiry yesterday. “The police was reluctant to mediate as it was a family matter,” they said. “It is unbelievable that such kind of human rights violation incident could happen in our area,” Pawan Kumar, a local teacher, said. He said the administration should make sure that the life was saved by taking civil society and the family concerned into the confidence. An inquiry committee headed by the tehsildar concerned was looking into the matter and would submit its report tomorrow. DC, Rajouri, JP Singh admitted that it’s a serious matter of human rights violation in which the family was accused while the neighbours maintained a silence. He said: “The inquiry committee is looking into all aspects and action would be initiated soon after the report is submitted.” “During the inquiry, we put up several questions and asked him for identifying some neighbours. He gave right answers, besides identifying the people correctly.  It gave an impression that he was normal. However, a medical team will conduct a check up to ascertain his mental status,” the tehsildar said, adding that the family on being questioned said he got fits and argued that he was shackled for the past seven years. “In some stray incidents, two insane persons were shot dead when they entered into Army areas. The family claimed that they had enchained him as a precautionary measure,” he added. “Since it has happened within a family, it happened probably because of grave ignorance rather than criminal negligence,” general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties Pushkar Raaj said. (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090912/j&k.htm#5)