India-Pakistan

BSF Neutralizes Pak Intruder Near Intl Border In J-K

The Border Security Force (BSF) neutralized a Pakistani intruder near the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba area in the early hours of Thursday.

The BSF troops deployed in the Jammu sector neutralized the intruder as he kept advancing towards border fencing despite warnings from the personnel.
“In the early hours of June 1, 2023, the alert BSF troops noticed a suspicious movement of a person who crossed IB from the Pakistan side in the Samba area,” the BSF said in a statement.

He was challenged by the troops but the intruder kept advancing towards border fencing, said the BSF, which is mandated to guard the 3,323 km India-Pakistan border.

“The troops fired on him and shot him dead. Further details are being ascertained,” the BSF added. (ANI)

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India Pak Exchange Lists Of Prisoners

India, Pak Exchange Lists Of Prisoners, Fishermen In Their Custody

India and Pakistan on Sunday exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody, in line with the longstanding agreement between the two countries.

“India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody. Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, such lists are exchanged every year on 01 January and 01 July,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
It said India shared lists of 339 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 95 Pakistani fishermen currently in Indian custody. Similarly, Pakistan has shared lists of 51 civilian prisoners and 654 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or are believed to be Indians.

In the statement, the Indian government called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel, and fishermen along with their boats, from Pakistan’s custody.

“In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 631 Indian fishermen and 02 Indian civilian prisoners, who have completed their sentence and whose nationality has been confirmed and conveyed to Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the remaining 30 fishermen and 22 civilian prisoners in Pakistan’s custody, who are believed to be Indian,” the MEA said.

The ministry said India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country.

In this context, India has also urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 71 Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan.

The external affairs ministry also said Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India.

Similarly, the sides also exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities, simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad. The list was exchanged under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between India and Pakistan.

” India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between India and Pakistan,” the MEA said in a statement.

The agreement, which entered into force on January 27, 1991, provides, inter alia, that India and Pakistan inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the Agreement on the first of January of every calendar year. (ANI)

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Sachin Tendulkar

Let’s Keep Sports Free From Personal Attacks: Sachin Backs Arshdeep

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had words of support and encouragement for young pacer Arshdeep Singh who is under fire for dropping a crucial catch against Pakistan in the Super Four clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The 23-year-old Indian pacer is under pressure for dropping an important catch in the 18th over of Pakistan’s innings against India in the Super Four phase clash while the former were chasing 182 runs. Singh had dropped Asif Ali, who took full advantage of the lifeline given to him as Pakistan hit pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs in the next over. Arshdeep Singh was given the final over to defend seven runs but was unsuccessful.
Arshdeep became the target of vicious online trolling after he dropped the crucial catch. The word “India” was replaced with “Khalistan” on Singh’s Wikipedia page by an anonymous user even as another editor shortly undid these changes. Reportedly, some handles from Pakistan also became active.

“Every athlete representing the country gives their best and plays for the nation always. They need our constant support & remember, that in sports you win some & you lose some. Let’s keep cricket or any other sport free from personal attacks. @arshdeepsinghh keep working hard…. and give the best reply by performing on the field. I am keenly following you. My best wishes,” said Tendulkar in two tweets.

Notably, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has taken note of the edited Wikipedia page linking cricketer Arshdeep Singh to Khalistan and MeitY is expected to initiate action on Wikipedia, said sources.

The Ministry of Electronics and Technology on Monday said that “no intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation” after cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page was edited by an unregistered user, linking him to the separatist Khalistani movement.

“No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation and deliberate efforts to incitement and user harm – violates our govt’s expectation of Safe & Trusted Internet,” tweeted Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Electronics and Technology.

Pictures were shared on social media, stating that “he was named in Khalistan squad for the 2018 under-19 World Cup.” The edit history of Arshdeep’s Wikipedia page revealed that the user who made those changes was unregistered and was using the internet protocol (IP) address 39.41.171.125.

The user also edited his name to “Major Arshdeep Singh Langra” and a minute later, to “Major Arshdeep Singh Bajwa”. Many random changes were done to Singh’s game statistics.

The address allocation records showed that the particular address was allocated to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Indian cricket fraternity has also come out in support of the young pacer who had dropped a crucial catch in the 18th over of the match.

Indian batter Virat Kohli had some strong words in his support and said “Even when I played my first game against Pakistan in Champions Trophy, I played a bad shot and got out. Anyone can make mistakes under pressure. It is natural to feel bad. The team environment is great right now, credit for this goes to management and the captain. So one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again,” said Kohli in a post-match press conference on Sunday.

He was backed by the former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who stated that no one drops catches purposely and the young seamer should not be criticized.

“Stop criticising young @arshdeepsinghh. No one drops a catch purposely..we are proud of our boys .. Pakistan played better.. shame on such people who r putting our own guys down by saying cheap things on this platform bout Arsh and the team.. Arsh is GOLD,” Harbhajan tweeted.

Coming to the match, put to bat first by Pakistan, India put on 181/7 in their 20 overs. Chasing 182, Pakistan crossed the finishing line with one ball to spare and by a margin of five wickets. (ANI)

Hum Dekhenge poem has inspired anti-CAA protesters

‘Hum Dekhenge’ – A Lyrical Ode To Resistance By Faiz

Poets and poetry are boundless and eternal. India’s ongoing turmoil has people, particularly the young, from all classes and communities, giving vent to their anger and aspirations through words and verses, reviving some old and long-forgotten, and creating new ones.

Grannies and mothers with babies in arms braving biting cold have come out in this winter of discontent.

Media last week captured a diminutive Sociology student, Gayatri Borkar, sitting amidst the protestors at Mumbai’s Gateway of India, feverishly churning out copies on an old typewriter of poets old and new — Varun Grover, Nagarjun, Dushyant Kumar and Habib Jaleeb. And Rahat Indori who defiantly asks: “Kisi ke Baap Ka Hindustan Thodi Hi Hai? (Is India anyone’s paternal property?)”.

Among them was “Hum Dekhenge”, the iconic poem of Faiz Ahmed ‘Faiz’. It is doubtful if this Marathi girl would understand Faiz’s Persianized-Urdu, its words and certainly, their import. But to judge her and thousands protesting for their ignorance would be downright unfair.

Restricted to the Urdu-speaking literate classes, Faiz has returned to India, in a manner of speaking, long after he left for Pakistan and died in 1986. And long after impact of the ideology he espoused has steeply declined. But Faiz, like others, is about sentiment, not substance.

This reminds of Subhas Chandra Bose’s “Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja” of the1940s and “We shall Overcome” Indianized as “Hum Honge Kaamyaab” of the 1970s. Those were different eras in the last century.

Faiz inspired. My interview with him during his last India visit was actually a non-interview. In the 25 minutes or so that we set across, he was on telephone for over 22. Barely one question was answered. When the next visitor came, he waved me off, endearingly: “Oh, yaar kuchhbhi likh dena.” It became a cook-up job.

A “protest poem” against an intolerant military order running in the name of religion, “Hum Dekhenge” has remained the most popular poem in Pakistan’s underground society, and for some very good reasons. But do those reasons apply to the present-day India?

Frequently in exile for protesting oppressive regimes, Faiz had written it in 1979 against military dictator Ziaul Haq. It was promptly banned. All copies were destroyed, till on Faiz’s death in 1986, Iqbal Bano, dressed in a black saree that Zia had outlawed, sang it in a small auditorium in Lahore. It brought the house down with excitement. The police seized all recording of this poem save one that was smuggled out of Pakistan and it is now available on Youtube. It is indeed inspiring.

But can it be adopted in India? The language is alien to most Indians today. Then, Faiz is identified with Communism. Although he belonged to both India and Pakistan, Faiz’s nationality and ideology are anathema to India’s current ruling classes and large sections of populace they have successfully seduced.

There is bound to be hostility to Faiz’s invocation of Islamic symbols and imageries. He was an atheist and his deliberate use of them only infuriated the conservatives. And conservatives, aggressive and intolerant, are ruling all across the world today.

These classes are worried about spread of culture they do not approve of. Saare Jahan Se Achha of Muhammad Iqbal is arguably third-most popular Indian song, both as a lyric and a martial tune, after Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s “Vande Maataram”. Indian conservatives, Hindu and Muslim, have had problems with all three through the long years of the freedom movement and thereafter.

Hum Dekhenge comes in more complex times that are less ideological and more ‘pragmatic’.  They are more difficult judging from the way words “Inquilab’ and “Azadi” that were part and parcel of India’s freedom movement have, ironically, come to mean ‘secession’ and are thus, “anti-India”.    

The extent to which the current ethos has over-whelmed ideas that have been inclusive and pluralist is evident from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, one of the country’s best institution of higher technological learning, forming a committee to judge if “Hum Dekhenge”, sung at a campus rally, has “anti-Indian” content. Elsewhere, the song has been declared “anti-Hindu.”

Writers-poets Gulzar and Javed Akhtar have stressed that a song written against Pakistan’s military junta couldn’t have ‘Indian’ or ‘Hindu’ context.  Javed termed the controversy “absurd and funny”.

The verse that gave offence was: Jab arz-e-khuda ke ka’abe se, sab buut uthwaae jaayenge / Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-haram, masnad pe bithaaye jaayenge / Sab taaj uchhale jaayenge, sab takht giraaye jaayenge/ Bas naam rahega Allah ka… (From the abode of God, when the idols of falsehood will be removed/ When we, the faithful, who have been barred from sacred places, will be seated on a high pedestal/ When crowns will be tossed, when thrones will be brought down, only Allah’s name will remain.)

The objection was to the word “buut” (idol) which was taken as a reference to idols of deities that Hindus worship and to Allah and was therefore, a communal insult. India, it would seem, is not offended by Faiz’s “communalism”, but by his pluralist message in 2020.

Pakistani writer Khaled Ahmed laments India’s “decline into religion” when saner Pakistanis are looking up to an India that they have known and admired for its all-in socio-political ethos.

This reminds of Pakistani poetess, late Fehmida Riaz, who chided Indians with her poem “tum bilkul hum jaise nikle, ab tak kahan they bhai?” (You turned out to be like us, brother. Where were you all this while?)  Will this indignation go unrealized, un-responded in India?

This Pakistani ‘sedition’ is not aimed only at India. A video of students chanting Sarfaroshi ki tamanna at the recent Faiz International Festival in Lahore is on the Internet. The lines were written by Ram Prasad Bismil, who fought and died along with Shaheed Bhagat Singh. This is new India. And perhaps, a new Pakistan (not to be confused with Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan promise).

Let this be said, whatever be the outcome of the protests over the present government’s two controversial moves  — adding to the  accumulated angst on many other issues — this combined muse of the old and the new, even if it falls silent for now, shall revive another day. 

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com