Tag: BurhanWani

Barkha, Arnab just called a spade a spade!
Dear Barkha Dutt,

A compliment from Arnab Goswani is an insult to you. Fine! What about the compliment from Hafiz Saeed? I have seen you reacting to people’s (you’ve labeled them all #Trolls and #Bhakts) reaction on Hafiz Saeed’s appreciation but I don’t know what your first reaction was. You certainly didn’t write a blog entry calling him names the way you did for Arnab Goswani.

On one side you’re extremely vocal about certain things, people and institutions while you causally ignore to even acknowledge the very thing on the other hand. Is that fair? Nope, it’s not!

You see that’s the problem. That’s the area I want to take you to.

Before actually taking you down point by point, I’d want to bring a fact to your notice. Did you realize Arnab didn’t take any name whatsoever? On the contrary, Hafiz did. I guess that’s enough to raise eyebrows against the orientation of your allergies and allegiances.

Now let’s me take you through some parts of your own blog – point by point.

You said, “he (Arnab) lumped all of us who have reported the recent unrest in Kashmir (from the ground, not from behind the lazy comfort of a Mumbai studio table like him) as apologists for the recently killed militant Burhan Wani, without explaining the basis of his statement. The following 3 screenshots can explain it all.

What were you thinking while adding “THE SON OF A SCHOOLMASTER” to your tweet? What was your logic? I know he was the son of a schoolmaster – a father who didn’t even bother to reason with his son as he was moving on the path of Allah! Don’t tell me you didn’t know it? Rajdeep Sardesai took it to another level by comparing him to Bhagat Singh. What a shallow man this guy is!

Then you went on to say “telling the truth in all its textures – the duty of a journalist – includes reporting all sides of a story, not glossing over the bits that are too awkward and uncomfortable to confront. That would be cowardice, not reportage. he positioned us as being at some sort of war with the Army – both false and disingenuous”.

Well, tell me Barkha, did you cover all aspects of the Burhan Wani story?
- Did you know military tried to get him surrender? Do you know what did his father said on the question of surrendering? Well, here it is….
- Did you talk to Burhan’s father after his death? Or did you try to read what all he told Hindustan Times? Of course, you didn’t because his father talked about Burhan going to Allah and said “Our Isam says that God, Quran and the Prophet are bigger than anything, even bigger and more important than our sons”. But how could you show that? You just couldn’t!
- Why the Pakistani flag in which Burhan’s body was wrapped didn’t bother you? Why didn’t you talk about that?
- Why didn’t you question the separatist leaders who didn’t waste a single minute to declare Burhan a martyr?
- Did you highlight the fact that in the aftermaths of Burhan’s killing scores of Kashmiri Pandit government employees had to leave the valley? If I am not mistaken, it wasn’t a communal issue? Why didn’t you explore this story?
Multi-dimensional reportage – bulls**t!

I know you are among the journalists who have chronicled the new phase of militancy in the valley. Ideally your role should have been that of a mirror. You should be reflecting the status quo of the valley as it is. Unfortunately that has never been the case with you and the other elite journalists of your class. Can you talk about the average family size of the valley? I am asking because the size of the family can help you understand the quality of education, health services and overall life can be determined. Can you talk about the increasing number of Wahabi Islam influenced mosques in valley? Can you talk about the slogans these “misguided youth” yell while protesting? Can you justify the presence of ISIS flags during protests? Why?

Are these questions discomforting? Or are you afraid of the fatwas? Or will it impact the business of the channel you work for? After all, this too is a business, you have a boss sitting on your shoulder who tells you what limitations are! Right?

What is being gagged?

In the beef ban case stories were fabricated, scores of loathing was done in the name of freedom to eat whatever a person wants to. However, not a single media house bothered to tell that the term ‘beef’ is a generic term for both buffalo and cow’s meat and it’s the cow’s meat that has been banned (I am against the ban, FYI).

The entire journo brigade jumped in to take sides with Kanhaiya Kumar case. Did they even bother to check the authenticity of the tape? The tape which was initially called ‘doctored’ came out to be actual and authentic one. Needless to say, some media houses took the entire episode to a whole new level. Ravish Kumar did an entire episode on Arnab Goswami’s approach. Kanhaiya, on the other hand, rose to become the star of the dying sect of the left wingers.

Truth is being gagged! Facts are being gagged! And that is exactly what people like me, Arnab Goswami, Shiv Aroor and scores of people on social media are taking a stand against. Call it a rise in subversion of journalism or rise of Trolls! We are going to stay and we’re going to fight!

We have had enough of this bigotry. We don’t want it any further.

It’s just the beginning

Yes, madam! This is just the beginning of it. It’s the power of social media and the awareness of a common Indian combined together. We are wise and we don’t need your bigoted, one-sided crap you like to call news. It’s time to call spade a spade. I guess, Arnab just did that!
July 29, 2016
Kashmir and its “Manufactured Martyrs”
I am a chronic procrastinator and that’s probably one of the reasons that I am writing about Burhan Wani so late. The other reason could be the fact that I wanted the clutter to settle down. A lot has been said about him and I wanted to avoid the heated arguments. Both left-wingers and right-wingers have overworked their vocal cords and the political leeches have had a party of their lifetime. Now that things are calmer and cleaner, I am going to write about it. However, my perspective is a little different and broader.

Know the latest “Manufactured Martyr” – Burhan Wani.

Burhan Wani was born in September 1994 to Muzafar Ahmed Wani. His father is principal of a Higher Secondary School and his mother is a teacher. The family is well-off, by the local standard at least.

Burhan fled in October 2010 and joined separatist militant groups at the age of 15. Yes, he was just 15 years old. There are various reasons quoted for the step he took. Some say it was the constant frisking and manhandling of his brother by the Indian Army personals while others say that it was the Amarnath Land controversy of 2008 that forced him to take up the gun.

What made him popular?

His looks and flamboyancy! Here was a good-looking guy who didn’t bother to cover his face while showing off his gun. To add to it, he posted extensively on Facebook. He was an instant hit. He was flamboyant. He was made a member by Hizbul Mujahideen in 2011 due to his popularity on social media. Trust me; he was just another kid who thought he’d establish “Nizam-E-Mustafa” in Kashmir. Nothing more than that. Not a dime! Take a moment to digest that. Only then I’ll move forward.

Questions that will never be answered

I had so many questions in my mind when I started to learn about him. I so want to have answer of these questions
- Don’t you want to know how what was his parents reaction on learning that Burhan has turned militant?
- What did happen during 2010-2016?
- Didn’t his family try to bring him back?
- Were they in touch with Burhan all these years?
- Where did Burhan learned to hold a gun? Did he cross over to Pakistan?
Muzafar Ahmad Wani on Burhan Wani

You just can’t fathom the pain, the agony and the helplessness of a father whose teenage boy has eloped? Things get so difficult for the parents. But hey! We have a different father here. Check out the excerpts from his father’s interview published on youthkiawaaz(dot)com in the month of January, 2016.

Army did try to make him surrender. They contacted Burhan’s family many times. However, this is how Burhan Wani reacted. See how the only outcome for them is either “victory” or “martyrdom”.

And don’t miss a father justifying his son here. I am not making up anything here. I am not slicing statements to make them suit my PoV. Go read the entire interview here.

Now here’s what Senior Wani said after Burhan was “martyred”. Here is the complete interview.

If you are not feeling disgusted yet, let me tell you that Muzafar Ahmad Wani is principal of a Higher Secondary school. Can you imagine an educated person saying all this? You can’t even imagine the influence people like him can have on young men and women. Did you think of it? Well, a vast majority of the nation and our media didn’t even bother to think of it. Nobody cared and nobody bothered.

How Indian Media reported Burhan’s killing?

Every negative adjective in its superlative degree will fall short to describe our media. These crooked pimps did all they could to sanitize and normalize Burhan Wani.

See how Barkha Dutt inserted the piece about Burhan’s father in her tweet. Fine, the militant was a school headmaster’s son. So what? Does it make him any less evil?

It does take a special talent to be as shallow as Rajdeep Sardesai. This so-called-leading-anchor compared Burhan with Bhagat Singh! Can you beat that? Bhagat Singh who read Lenin and Marx, who talked about the society as a whole, who rose above religion was compared to this Islamic fundamentalist! Slow claps, Mr. Rajdeep, slow claps!

This fine lady, Kavita Krishnan went a step further and called Burhan’s execution an “extra judicial killing”. A phrase that was immediately picked by the Pakistani establishment and media houses.

Do I need to say more?

Other Manufactured Heroes of Kashmir

Google “Maqbool Butt”. Try what all did he achieve when he was alive and what all happened after his death. Ditto for “Afzal Guru”. Do it all over again for Burhan Wani. I am sure you’d find the common link.

None of these three were celebrated while they were alive. When Maqbool Butt crossed the LOC, he was arrested as the Pakistani authorities considered him an Indian spy. Afzal Guru met with a similar fate while he was alive. None of the separatist parties bothered to know about him, to consider his battle their own. Same was Burhan Wani’s fate. He was considered an Indian double agent for quite some time. For these 3 men, life changed only after they died. Go call them martyrs, if you want. Fact is they made it large only after their death. Rather they were MADE heroes.

Why are they made?

A fire needs fuel. There is no simpler explanation to it.

And the Kashmir conflict is way too complex. There are so many layers to this dispute. There is a Kashmir which acceded to India because that is what its Hindu king wanted. There is a Kashmir that Pakistan attacked to gain control of the Muslim majority valley. There is a Kashmir that people of Kashmir want to make an independent nation for all Kashmiris.

Then there is the rising Wahabi cult everywhere in the world that pumps in millions of petro-dollars wherever there are Muslims in a dispute. New mosques are mushrooming in the valley with brand new speakers that can make the cry for “Nizam-e-Mustafa” reach more and more number of ears. There has been a gradual shift in what “type-of-Muslim” the Kashmiris want to be.

What started as a cry for “Azadi” transformed into a demand for “NIzam-e-Mustafa” and in the past couple of years ground has been made for “Caliphate”. What else can explain the ISIS flags that have become an integral part of the protests? Why Burhan’s body was wrapped in a Pakistani flag? What else will explain the slogan “Hindu dogs go away”?

The character of the conflict has definitely changed. While the Kashmiris are far away from the goal, they need motivation. They need a face to identify with. They need a cause to stand for. And that is where these “Manufactured Martyrs” find their use. Remember, this guy didn’t belong to a poor and uneducated family. Yet he chose the bullet and nobody from family and society tried to reason with him. He was pushed into it. A martyr was MADE out of him. Period.
July 16, 2016