Comments on: If only we were Chinese…

By: B Shantanu

B Shantanu — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:57:19 +0000

Excerpt from China bans public mourning in Urumqi by Malcolm Moore:

Xinjiang, dotted with oil refineries, is crucial for China's energy supplies, making control of the province an absolute priority for Beijing. Abundant supplies of oil and gas lie beneath the sands of the Tarim basin and Xinjiang also forms the apex of a series of pipelines funnelling energy from Russia, Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia to the neon cities of Beijing and Shanghai, 3,500 miles to the east. The latest unrest in Urumqi came only days after the announcement that another pipeline will be constructed, designed to supply the power-hungry cities of southern China. "With the decrease in the oil reserves of Heilongjiang and Shandong, the strategic importance of Xinjiang and its untapped reserves grows every year," said Ren Xianfang, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. To capitalise on the region's wealth, China has steadily moved Han Chinese into Xinjiang, swelling their numbers from six per cent of the population in 1949 to 40 per cent today. Uighurs are officially banned from working in the oil industry for "security reasons" and complain that they see few economic benefits. Wang Lequan, the hardline Communist Party secretary of the province, has admitted that Beijing gets three-quarters of all the tax revenues from Xinjiang's oil fields. He noted, however, that the region benefits from large scale central funding. Even in the countryside, the traditionally-agrarian Uighurs feel marginalised. A quasi-military organisation, known as the Bingtuan, controls huge tracts of farmland across the province, employing more than 2.2 million people, the vast majority of whom are Han.

By: v.c. krishnan

v.c. krishnan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:52:02 +0000

Dear Sir,
Tongue in cheek I would like to state that Article 370 will vanish from the Constitution of India shortly. Why?
Today in the light of the Jammu Amarnath issue the Kashmiri separatists are encouraging the Kashmiris to cross the LOC.
So Tit for Tat let us encourage all sorts of Indians to walk into the vacum created b the Kashmiris leaving the valley and going to Pakistan.
Solution, Voila! Article 370 solved through more than Gandhian means.
Seriously I think it is time to call the bluff of the separatists and the seculars. Let us all Indians walk into kashmir which is India and let us see what happens.
Regards
vck

By: Shanth

Shanth — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:34:38 +0000

shantanu,

Secular Agenda – book by Arun Shourie, clearly describes how Nehru using his perfidy extracted Sardar’s grudging compliance for Article 370. he had infact resigned from the cabinet. Nehru used his aide to fall at sardar’s feet begging for his non-intervention in Kashmir affairs.

I think every Indian should read this book.

***

Thank you Shanth – Shantanu

By: Gypsy

Gypsy — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:41:29 +0000

Sir, I was old enough in 1949 to hear within the precincts of the Congress House in the fort area of Ahmedabad the talk about Kashmir. It was said that Sardar Patel had asked Nehru (he was not learned enough to be called Pandit) to resettle ALL the refugees coming from East Punjab in Kashmir Valley for two reasons: 1. The Valley was sparsely populated and the refugees could easily be resettled there, thereby easing load on the cities of North India including Delhi where the infrastructure was under pressure. 2. The demographic inequalities could resolved by bringing in Sikhs and Hindus and therefore, another partition of the State of J & K could be averted. Sardar had seen through the designs of Sheikh Abdulla and wanted Sikhs to protect docile Pandits again in the traditions of the Tenth Guru.

It was said that Nehru had turned it down out of hand. He was afraid that Sardar may get support, which led to Article 370. I do not have documentary evidence, but may be somewhere in the archives, this discussion was minuted.

****

Thanks Gypsy. This is fascinating! Does anyone have any more information on this?

By: vinay

vinay — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:42:19 +0000

I would love to see that day.