Voters in Indian-administered Kashmir started heading for the polls on Monday, November 17, amid tight security. Voting for the 87 assembly seats comprising the state government is being held in seven stages until December 24, 2008.
So far, around 55 per cent of Indian-controlled Kashmir’s 6.4 million strong electorate have turned out to vote, including many Muslims, who separatists and rebels are urging to boycott the elections to protest against New Delhi’s hold over the Himalayan region.
Indian-administered Kashmir was put under direct federal rule in July, after the state government collapsed following its controversial decision to donate land in to a Hindu pilgrim trust. About 70 per cent of the region’s population is Muslim. This year has seen some of the biggest anti-India protests in the Kashmir Valley since an insurgency began in 1989.
Presenter Sohail Rahman and guests Raja Assad Hameed, a special correspondent for the Nation, a Pakistani daily newspaper, the author and academic Prem Shankar Jha, and Victoria Schofield, an author and expert on Kashmir, will discuss the issues surrounding the elections and the wider conflict over the region between nuclear powers India and Pakistan.
Duration : 0:10:56
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I’m afraid ‘the …
I’m afraid ‘the converted muslims’ don’t have the balls or the brains to acknowledge that. As far as I see it, these brothers have been lost to us for good. I, for one, don’t wish them back into the Hindu fold. Peace be with them and their religion.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
india is not abt …
india is not abt religion.. its abt democracy for every common men.. u cant get seperate country showing the religion..democracy is bigger than religion in india.. u narrow minded people should understand it mr. purushapuram..lol
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
the only solution …
the only solution is pakistan to join india.. why
1) pakistan is a failed state
2) kashmiri wants freedom, pakistan is against it
3) india has more muslims than paksitan.. and maybe pakistan should be willing to take all of them..
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I am laughing hard. …
I am laughing hard. Even Ayman Al Zawhiri of Al Qaeda has regreted the death of Baithullah Mehsud in his latest video. The people who are bombing Pakistan are Hamid Gul and ISI and their Arab sponsors. Once Pakistani’s leave Islam and become Hindu-Buddhist like in the past and forget their Arab step fathers, they will be at peace.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
The people who are …
The people who are doing bomb and sucide blasts since last 3 years in Pakistan are Indian and Isreal trained.India is supporting them in Afghanistan.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
You ar not Mr. …
You ar not Mr. Peshawari. Your Mr. Purushpuri. Peshawar was Purushpura. Your heritage has been stolen by the Arabs and your women folk were raped and seeded by them. Rise up and convert out of Islam. Become free again, free of Islam.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
All Muslims are …
All Muslims are Hindus. Everybody from Afghanistan to Myanmar is from the same civilization.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
It has now been …
It has now been proved that they were trained by Al Qaeda and trained by ex-ISI officers.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
This is laughable. …
This is laughable. Punjabi’s can kill Pakhtoons because they are Muslim?
Muslims should be converted to Buddhism and Hinduism because the area of Pakistan was a Hindu-Buddhist country. They have to back to their roots. The Arabization of Pakistani’s has to stop.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Everybody is a …
Everybody is a human being and this planet belongs to all and not to Muslims alone. Learn to share.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Mr. Jinnah had …
Mr. Jinnah had divided India in 1947 and had asked all Muslims to go to Pakistan. Not even 5 million muslims went to Pakistan. They continued to stay where they were staying. Mr. Jinnah also accepted his mistake and wanted to reverse the partition. Ethnicity is more important than religion and everybody is different. Why did Muslim Bengali’s leave Pakistan? Why is there an Iran, Saudi Arab, Turkey, even Yemen…..??? Army is fighting Pakistani Jihadis who kill innocent people.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
India have to …
India have to remove more then half million hindu army from Kashmir and let them live freely as they are muslims and humans.India can not capture illegaly kashmir for ever. Kashmiri’s need freedom n they know they are sorrounder by muslims so India is just wasting its army, money as well as ur media is in progress to show false information to international media.
Forget about muslims in pakistan or world what they are doing, its not ur problem.you are hindu u better stop talking about muslims
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Pakistan do not …
Pakistan do not want to seperate 300 million Indian muslims , but your Hindu Indian state should do that.Its good for your Hindus as you will live in your own country and there will be no conflict.
Kashmir’s 90% population is muslim n is sorrounded by Pakistan and muslims so
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
No body is kiling …
No body is kiling any one and if any body fight or kill , they are all musilms , India is not responsible for that.
We are not talking about Indian Hindus , so India got no right to talk about Paksitani Muslims.
You have to talk about Indian muslims only.Divide India and you can live in your Hindu state and Muslims will make there own seperate country.This is what i am trying to tell you.IF MUSLIMS FIGHT,KILL OR DO WHAT EVER THEY WANT ITS THERE OWN PROBLEM, HINDUS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Punjabi , sindhi , …
Punjabi , sindhi , pashtoon , balochi , seriaki etc etc are ALL MUSLIMS.
India must divide and let those 200-300 million muslims make there own country , after that its there own decision if they want to live together or seperate from each others.
What i am trying to explain u is that Hindu and muslims are 2 seperate nations.They can not live together.
India have not right to talk about Punjbai, sindi ,pushtoon etcetc as they are all muslims.
Free Kashmir and 200-300 million Indian muslims
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Punjabi’s in …
Punjabi’s in Pakistan should stop killing Baloch, Pakhtoon and Kashmiri Muslims.
Seraiki region and Sind should be given freedom. Mohajirs should be given Jinnahpur. Unless everybody in Pakistan becomes free and independent from Punjabi control and ISI there will be no development in that region. Freedom for Kashmiri, Baloch, Sindhi, Seraiki, Pashtoon from Punjabi’s is the need of the hour. Sunni’s should give freedom to Shia, Aga Khani’s and Ahmeddiyas.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Mr. Jinnah never …
Mr. Jinnah never felt that way till 1931. It was only after the British brainwashed him that he began talking that language.
Muslims in the subcontinent are converted Hindus and Zorastrians. They are not Arab despite of Wahabi brainwashing. Their ancestors are the same. You can try and seperate the 200-300 million muslims living in India. I wish you the best of luck. I also advise you to provide a decent life for the Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh too. Good Luck.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
If muslims die in …
If muslims die in IRAQ , AFGHANISTA N, IRAN , PAKISTAN that does not matter.What matters is that Muslims are living in India.
If muslims seperate them selves from India and make there own independant country that will solve the conflict between Pakistan n India.We do not want Kashmir , we want them to become independant seperate state.
Or it will take 60 more years for India to Understand n realize that.
Muslims dont want to become President or CM in India, they want seperate state.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
The war in Kashmir …
The war in Kashmir was started by Benazir Bhutto and she has been eaten up by it as has the whole of Pakistan. How would the Pakistani Army survive if they did not create the Kashmir Jihad?
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
More Muslims have …
More Muslims have been killed in Pakistan alone in the last year than rest of the world combined. Indian Kashmiri’s have the most rights of all South Asians including other Indians. The development in Indian Kashmir is far more than in best parts of Pakistan and less people are killed there than in Delhi or Mumbai or even Karachi or FATA or Balochistan. Indian Kashmiri’s also live all over India and not just Kashmir. Delhi’s chief minister was a Kashmiri Muslim.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Muslims and hindu …
Muslims and hindu are 2 seperate nations.There way of living, religion, culture, habbits etcetc every thing is different.
India must free Kashmir and let them make a seperate independant state as well as 200-300 million muslims who are living in India need to make a seperate country other wise there will be no peace in this region.
The way India captured illegaly muslim majority areas since 1947 and make them part of India invent hatred between Muslims and Hindu as well as become cause of WAR
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Azad Kashmires have …
Azad Kashmires have there own president , PM and government.There is no killing or hurting in AJK , if it starts India will be responsible to show the international media but till now since 60 years not a single person killed as compare to Indian captured kashmir.
Punjabi , sindhi etc etc they have there own land so they dont need to go to AJK , Kashmires live in Islamabad and Pindi.
Pakistan just want Indian occupied Kashmire to be free , so they can have there own government.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Those bomb …
Those bomb attackers are all trained by India and Isreal … they attack mosques, hospitals, schools etc etc and kill innocent people , plus they are attaching Government institutes….
No freedom fighter kill kashmires its all Indian media..
If they want to live free , let them free… they are human .. think of them as human..The result of all this what India is doing since 1947 ( captured illegaly muslims areas which were suppose to be with Pakistan ) will go bad for India in future
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Pakistan has been …
Pakistan has been for Kashmir since 1948. Their is no democracy in Pakistan forget about democracy in Pak occupied Kashmir. In Indian Kashmir there is not only full democracy like in the rest of India but also no outsider is allowed to settle there. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has now been taken over by Punjabi’s. NWP, SIndh and Balochistan have been reduced to rubble.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Sau chuha marke …
Sau chuha marke billi haj ko nikli. There are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. We have problems and people actively catching fish in troubled waters, but we have less internecine strife as compared to Pakistan. Just compare the number of bombs going off near mosques. We never went for a planned genocide of Bengalis. And I have a feeling that the “freedom fighters” killed more Kashmiris than the security forces did. Not counting Kashmiri Hindus who were driven out of their homes