Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2019/08/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]There is nothing wrong with the political environment here at all. We have 175 million Muslims and 85 million Christians in this country, do you think the nation would survive serious religious discontent? We will have destructive civil war, which is clearly not the case. All this nonsense the western media is putting out on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), in many cases using Indian journalists totally discredited here (e.g. Barkha Dutt of Washington Post), or academics living in the West, is quite pitiable. A democratically elected government has taken a decision, according to our constitution, and won the requisite votes in both houses of parliament, with huge majorities. If someone thinks it is illegal, then there are special appeals possible directly to our quite independent Supreme Court available for redress. Let the constitutionally prescribed legal process take its course! The Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) autonomy has been an unsuccessful and totally failed experiment over the last 70 years, just fomenting terrorism, extreme corruption concentrated in a few political and quasi religious families and no investment at all for jobs, and something different had to be tried. Did you know that most of the Indian laws are not applicable in J&K? The majority of the land mass in the state of J&K consists of the Buddhist area of Ladakh and the Hindu area of Jammu, where there is celebration in the streets for this political move, by 50% of the state population. The valley of Kashmir is about 15% of the area and about 50% of the population (about 3 million people in a nation of 1.2 billion). The original drawing of the seats to the state government was artificially drawn by Nehru in 1949 to give 60% of the seats to the Kashmiri Muslims, which was never redrawn, therefore damning the Hindus and Buddhists of the region. Besides, the Kashmiri Pandits (the Hindus of the Muslim dominated Kashmir Valley) were butchered, and driven out out of their ancestral homes and lands beginning in 1989, and effectively 100% ethnic cleansing carried out by terror squads, as the state and central governments of the day looked the other way, because it suited their short term political interests to do so. What our government has done has caught everyone by surprise, and with all the subtlety of a hammer, so the hand wringing is intense. The situation on the ground has really not changed at all, it has been equally bad for the last 20 years or so. It might not be the right decision, only the future will tell, but the status quo could not have continued, something had to give. Incidentally, my estimate is that probably 60- 70% of the population of the country approve of this political move! It is becoming increasingly clear, as in China as well, that it is very difficult to have one country with two classes of citizens, and drastically different levels of applicability of national laws. Sorry for this political rant! Cheers Jayanand On Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 1:30 AM Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> wrote: > Such incredible magnificence!!! Thanks for sharing. > > Given the current political environment in India, is Aga Khan?s financing > of such projects controversial? > > Cheers, > Nathan > > Nathan Wajsman > > Alicante, Spain > http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/> > http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu > PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws < > http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ < > http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/> > > Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator < > http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator> > > YNWA > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 10 Aug 2019, at 12:32, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG < > lug at leica-users.org> wrote: > > > > I had been to the former princely state of Hyderabad, India a few weeks > ago. > > The Qutb Shahi tombs were in total disrepair, and crumbling into > oblivion, > > when I used to stay in Hyderabad in the 1970s and 1980s. The Aga Khan > > Foundation has taken up an ambitious programme of restoring these > > magnificent set of tombs, belonging to the rulers of this area in the > 16th > > and 17th centuries. Work is still going on, but the results are already > > unambiguously visible! > > > > Arches: > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-132.jpg.html > > > > Lady: > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-140.jpg.html > > > > Photo: > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-142.jpg.html > > > > Love in the Ruins: > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-116.jpg.html > > > > Mausoleum of Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah: > > > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-144.jpg.html > > > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-150.jpg.html > > > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/India/hyderabad/Hyderabad-20190706-150BW.jpg.html > > > > Please see LARGE > > > > Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome. > > > > Cheers > > Jayanand > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information