Connection Lost

This is related to last month’s cover story on ‘Kashmir Kiska Hai?’. Kashmir has been in total lockdown, after India revoked Articles 370 and 35-A which gave special status and guarantees to maintain the identity and autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiris are deprived of basic human rights and are facing a crippling curfew, telecommunication blackout, arrests of political leaders and whatnot. Pakistan has time and again tried to talk to India regarding the matter but they have turned a deaf ear. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, even spoke at the UN General Assembly and urged the world to unite and help solve the Kashmir issue. Keeping in view the atrocities in occupied Kashmir which is turning worst day by day, we must understand that it has become incumbent upon the United Nations to exert maximum pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government to not only lift the curfew but also withdraw Indian troops from Kashmir.
Maham Khan,
Islamabad, Pakistan.

Fight for Freedom

SouthAsia Magazine has always managed to deliver the best. The interview of Mushaal Hussein Mullick, a freedom fighter and wife of detained Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, is a living proof of the fact. It was really impressive to see her on the cover of the November issue, sharing her views regarding the human atrocities prevailing in Kashmir. Mushaal was of the view that India has always been against peace talks and Kashmiris had to pay that price in terms of torture and brutalities, not to forget rape which the Indian forces use as a weapon. She also highlighted that it is not the duty of only a single country to settle the long-festering conflict. Giving her message loud and clear, Mushaal emphasised that the Kashmiris will not have any kind of dialogue with India for they have not made sacrifices for any peacemaking formulas or purported confidence-building measures. They demand their right to self-determination and will not accept anything less than a fair plebiscite.
Asad Kamal,
Karachi, Pakistan.

Stripping Citizenship

This is with reference to the article ‘The Lost Citizens’ by Dr. Moonis Ahmar. Getting citizenship is the most important thing a person should have to prove his belonging to a country. Yet, in Assam, stateless people are deprived of this right. A list of citizens in Assam called National Register of Citizens (NRC), a policy of the Indian Government led by the BJP, has shortlisted two million residents out of 32 million who were to be deported because of their origin in Bangladesh. In simple words, India is stripping two million people of citizenship, particularly targeting Muslim migrants, and the government of Assam is also mum about it. The crisis will have consequences in India and beyond its borders because if India is trying to transform the country into a Hindu state, it will contradict the Indian image of a secular, democratic and politically pluralist society.
Asin Joshi,
Assam, India.

Internet Exposure

In this era of digital revolution, smartphones are available to everyone. Though most schools prohibit the use of a phone during classes, we see students using them all the time. When students are so addicted to their smartphones, the future looks scary.

A 2018 survey by the National Academy for Educational Management revealed how social media use has rapidly grown. Around 29.5 percent of students are addicted to using social media during their school hours. Some are even becoming addicted to watching pornography which changes their habits and way of thinking.

It is high time people realise this major problem and come up with possible measures to stop children from excessive use of the internet.

Amdadul H Sarker,
Comilla, Bangladesh.

Tezgam Tragedy

There have been a lot of letters on the tragic railway incident that resulted in so many fatalities. Various examples are being cited but the Tezgam tragedy is a different affair. The majority of the people wants Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad's resignation because being the Railways Minister he failed to ensure the safety of the train. However, the resignation of Sheikh Rasheed is not the solution to the problem. The root cause needs to be attended to which is a violation of baggage rules. The question that arises is that when the law of the land forbids such items as gas cylinders to be carried in trains or buses, why is the rule violated? We need to do a thorough check of the baggage of travellers as it is done at airports. Once an unauthorized material is recovered, the person should be tried summarily otherwise we will be chasing shadows in the dark.
Mukhtar Ahmed,
Bradford, UK.

Fascist Monk

This is concerning the article ‘Decoding Dangerous Trends’ by Dr. Muhammad Ali Ehsan. The article primarily discusses the hardline views of the Buddhist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara against the Muslims. Sri Lanka hardly ever convicts Buddhist monks as they represent the non-violent aspect of Buddhist teachings and are considered as role models of peace. But with Gnanasara, it is the other way around as he has been continuously accused of spreading hatred among the other faiths. He was recently released from jail after having been given Presidential pardon. People like Gnanasara are believers in fascism and are destroyers of a diverse and pluralist society that can never be at peace with itself. Strict action should be taken against him.
Marzia Durani,
Kabul, Afghanistan.

Female Malinga

Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest, a competition to identify Sri Lanka’s finest budding fast bowling talent, provided equal opportunities for both men and women to showcase their talents and in the attempt, Shayani Senarathene who is dubbed as a female Malinga, was unearthed. She also turned out to be the winner of the Female Open Category of Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest competition and has been selected to represent her country at the inaugural ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2019. Currently, she has a scorching speed of 104 km/h.

Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka's bowling sensation, took on the world with his cramping back-to-back wickets at the World Cup and with Shayani Senarathene, the hope for a new era is expected to take the legacy forward.

Roshani Tharin,
Kandy, Sri Lanka.