Aaj socha ki phir kud se guftagu kar loon
Phir usi barq bayaani ki justuju kar loon
Kuch toa hai ki huye hai parwaaz mutasir
Yeh baat kyon na aaj mein rubaru kar loon
Kis kadar huyee hai kotahi-e-inqilaab
Acha ki mein qalam ko phir do badoon kar loon
Ayyam ne yaan phir se hai aayeena dikhaya
Acha hai ki Talib ko phir joon ka toon kar loon
Daddy’s Day Out
Of Kashmir’s energy, climate and senior Abdullah
Arjimand Hussain Talib
After some hiatus full of suspense, the cat is finally out of the bag – Kashmir’s ‘prodigal son’, the senior Abdullah, got a ministerial berth at
Say whatever, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is going to be boring for the senior Abdullah. Looking at his tastes and temperament, new and innovative technologies may hardly appeal to him. A ministry largely driven by dull science, whose commercial and economic viability generally remains in question, may not excite him. Imagine if he got tourism or a commerce ministry!
Jokes and scepticism apart, his day out at the ministry offers some great opportunities as well.
Two other important events that happened in
The first meeting of the Working Group on Climate Change in Kashmir, coincidentally happening at the
To begin with, we need to recognise that there is something very vital about the whole debate on climate change and energy needs of
When it comes to energy research in
Today
Even as powerful public and private corporations exploit
An Energy Research Institute in
Let us do not lose sight of the macro-level realities. Alternative energy discourse must not dwarf the existing exploitative system. India’s public-sector National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) has got four new major power projects on our rivers - the Sewa-II (120 MW) on Chenab, Uri-II (240 MW) on Jhelum, Kishenganga (330 MW) on Kishangaga river and the 1,020 MW Bursur project on Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab.
The NHPC,
NHPC Chairman, Mr. S.K. Garg, has already said it publicly that out of the 14 power projects the NHPC runs in
We also need to advocate for removal of the veil over the regime of environmental and social impact assessment of big power projects in
At the energy workshop there was also a talk of exploring hydrocarbon reserves in
A departure from the current political conditions would require Kashmir government to renegotiate the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), which must take care of
In view of the cost benefit analysis, Kashmir has very little or no scope for developing alternative energy resources like those obtained from biomass, wind, geothermal sources or tides. Solar power would continue to retain its minuscule status – again due to its high costs and technical limitations.
It is now almost well established by research that not all of this renewable energy potential may be suitable for grid-interactive power for technical and/or economic reasons.
There is indeed a possibility of exploring Small Hydro Power Schemes (up to 25 MW) under public-private partnership system. This area falls well within the domain of the ministry that Mr. Farooq heads now. But, as always, the questions on economic viability and maintenance would remain.
Let us do not lose sight of our experience with the development of Micro and Mini Hydro Power Schemes in Kashmir’s inaccessible and border areas. Barring a few exceptions, almost all of them lie defunct today.
Then let us take Kashmir municipal waste, which continues to be an environmental challenge to us. Can we create energy from that? In whole of India, the current technically-feasible municipal waste-to-energy potential is assessed at 1700 MWe (Mega Watt Equivalent). Its economic viability remains a big challenge.
Energy is a highly political question. We also need to be mindful of the corporate interest in pushing energy ideas which do not help local economies. Academics may serve to strengthen the status quo, mired in inequalities and injustices or trigger a break from it. The former is no option at all.
A lot would also depend on how Senior Abdullah is able to influence the thinking and policies on new and renewable energy in Kashmir. And time would tell if his day out at the ministry made any difference to the exploitative and unjust energy regime Kashmir’s poor people have been made to live with.
Feedback at Arjimand@greaterkashmir.com
First published Daily Greater
Let us understand it does not matter to our oppressor if we eat our dinner or not. It doesn’t matter to him if a widow fails to feed her children, and in desperation resorts to prostitution. It does not matter to him if economic deprivation breeds crime and nihilism in our society. Whether our children are getting quality education doesn’t matter to him either.
Arjimand Hussain Talib
There is an awful feeling of déjà vu every time a Kashmiri woman is raped, or an innocent man killed by Indian soldiers. It evokes a mass feeling of haplessness among Kashmiris, which is torturous.
The latest atrocity in Shopian at the hands of Indian soldiers is one such example. Alas! Omar Abdullah still looks the other way. Alas! His coalition government, the PDP and their ilk continue politicking for the sake of power.
Every time such atrocities are reported,
For more than half a century now Kashmiris are under a disguised slavery. For more than three decades they struggled peacefully to chart their destiny, but achieved nothing. Two decades of armed struggle did not get the goal any closer.
For more than two decades, peaceful shut downs have complemented
Looking at the level of repression, many people argue shut downs are the only means of protest left with the Kashmiri people. That is only partly true. Resorting to shut downs on selective basis could be effective. They need not be frequent and indefinite. They could be even more creative.
A long shut down with no clear goal is a clear recipe for self ruin. Its rationale is intrinsically faulty. It brings economic mayhem, tatters our social and psychological wellbeing. You cannot inflict self hurt and expect the oppressor to mend. It has to be the other way round.
Monotony and predictability in any kind of protest defeats its very purpose. It fails to catch attention and incite action. When it hurts the self, it fails to mobilise. Its approach becomes surreal, turns people away and makes them reluctant participants.
Let us understand it does not matter to our oppressor if we eat our dinner or not. It doesn’t matter to him if a widow fails to feed her children, and in desperation resorts to prostitution. It does not matter to him if economic deprivation breeds crime and nihilism in our society. Whether our children are getting quality education doesn’t matter to him either.
Let us understand such long shut downs severely impact people’s psychological well being. There is a limit to human endurance in everything. Long shut downs are known to breed domestic frictions and frustrations among our jobless youth. They result in loss of lives. They are a health hazard too.
A day-long shut down doesn’t only mean a quantifiable loss of business. It results in indefinable and innumerable opportunities lost – a loss which can be hardly regained. This culture of frequent and long shut-downs sickens us and pushes us further to lethargy and inaction. It deepens the crisis of our work culture. Let us realise we continue to lack in independent and credible national institutions because we have impaired our social, educational, psychological and intellectual ability.
By pure miracle we have survived about two decades of economic mayhem by long shut downs. God has been kind to us by bestowing us with bounties of agriculture and horticulture. A strong sense of social cohesion and brotherhood ensures the poor do not go hungry. But let us do not take God for granted.
The youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC), sickened by a lack of progress in achieving their goals, in somewhat similar circumstances, took control of the organization in 1949. The new young leaders, among other things, embraced a new Programme of Action – which included a series of strikes, boycotts and civil disobedience actions.
The aim of the protests was to disrupt the White regime’s trade and commercial activities. It was a kind of civil disobedience. The White regime was at a loss because it was losing production and tax revenues. The action made the White regime feel the pinch.
When we reflect on the means of protest in
Breaking the cycle of
First,
‘Undeclared curfews’ remain a blot on the rule of law. They mock at the concepts of basic human freedom and civil liberties. They must be done away with.
Second, the leaders who are supposed to lead these protests are often detained; house arrested and denied the democratic right to connect to the people. If you grant them that right, their logic for resorting to long shut-downs would stand questioned.
Third, any form of protest needs to re-invent its raison d’être. Should it be self hurting or the other way round?
Fourth, a protest could be an opportunity as well. Imagine business establishments or even houses lighting up candles every night on a day of protest! Imagine those candles coming from micro enterprises of our jobless youth or even widows, who are today left dependent on government aid! Imagine on a day of protest special messages and slogans displayed on our vehicles! Imagine women wearing black ribbons when it is for them to convey a message. Imagine children too doing like that! Imagine revisiting the 90s’ popular mode of protest - beating of tin roof tops and making the ‘right noise’! There could be any number of ideas.
Fifth, hydro power is the main resource of
Let us understand no matter
Feedback at Arjimand@greaterkashmir.com
First published in Daily Greater
Apartheid, colonialism versus spirit of freedom
Arjimand Hussain Talib
A century and sixteen years have passed since Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg here for boarding a first class train coach in 1893. It is now fifteen years since the end of the grand Apartheid in
Last Sunday when I reached Johannesburg South
On the occasion, the current President, Jacob Zuma, told his countrymen that ‘if there is a story to be told of an icon that inspires the world, characterised by the humility, warm humanity and a will for prosperity, then Madiba’s 91-year life story offers a story of life worth living.’
The uniqueness about
Down the years,
Even as some sections of the native Blacks have come out of poverty and misery, large sections of its population continue to live in destitution and suffering. The social and economic divides between the haves and the haves-not are glaring. Petty Apartheid has not ended altogether. It is a life of ghettos. The Whites, the Blacks, the Indians and the coloured, all have their own neighbourhoods to live in. Although intermingling of races is a reality in
Today
Incidentally, last week, members of the newly-emerged South Africa Unemployed People’s Movement stormed into the shops owned by foreigners in the town of
All these protests were organised by the South African Unemployed People's Movement, which is demanding free education, better public health care, and a 1,500 rand (about 200 dollars) monthly grant for the unemployed.
Today millions of Black South Africans feel they have yet to enjoy the fruits of democracy, as frustration mounts over dire housing conditions and a lack of basic services, such as water and electricity. Unemployment in the country is officially at 23.5 percent but is believed much higher. President Jacob Zuma has promised to create 500,000 jobs this year, but the country has slipped into its first recession since apartheid, with more than 200,000 jobs already lost.
When the mayor of the farming town of
Meanwhile, in the posh port city of
The provincial police spokesman, while speaking on a local TV channel, said that they just ate in the shops because they were hungry. Some took some rice and maize meal. They didn't struggle with the police. They are not criminals, he asserted.
Since the end of
The latest demonstrations have also sparked anxious memories of the xenophobic attacks that swept the country one year ago, when 60 people died and tens of thousands of foreigners fled townships for refugee camps.
The 2008 xenophobia violence has a painful background. The local Black population feel that the foreigners, having come from the neighbouring African countries and
In the northern
But there are others in
The South African government aims to put about 30 percent of the country's agricultural land into Black hands within 15 years. But the process is slow. The situation today seems highly unequal. I am learning.
Feedback at arjimand@greaterkashmir.com
