Columns: Cyberchatter

Columns

India Today, July 12, 1999
July 12, 1999

CYBERCHATTER
Kargil to Kosovo

By Arun Katiyar

Some weeks ago, an elaborate document titled Truth About Kashmir was mailed out to Indians across the Net by a person using a Hotmail account. The clever document quoted Minoo Masani, retired Justice V.M. Tarkunde speaking at a civil rights seminar in Mumbai, Jayaprakash Narayan, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from an air broadcast in 1947 and several other Indians voicing their opinion on Kashmir. The document had one twisted focus: that India had promised Kashmir to Pakistan. For many Indians, not familiar with historical developments, the thinly disguised propaganda may have actually worked.

But a handful of smart Indians have countered it with jokes (Heard about the Pakistani Air Force helicopter crash? A: The pilot felt cold, so he turned off the fan), quoting from articles like the one by Pritish Nandy ("Fighting India is the only way Pakistan can stay alive. That is what binds them, not Islam."), distributing mail allegedly written by Vaibhav Kalia, brother of Lieutenant Saurabh Kalia, a war hero of 4 Jat Regiment, describing the brutal torture of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani Army, and requesting generous contributions to the army fund. For more details on contributions, visit http://armedforces.nic.in which lists the contributors.

A number of other websites have sprung up to add their mite to the effort. www.heroesofkargil.com is among the latest, a simple tribute to the martyrs on the war front. B.G. Mahesh's www.indiainfo.com has an elaborate Kargil Watch page that keeps you abreast with developments. And one of the best places to look for The Truth About Kashmir is the site maintained by the 15 Corps headquartered in Srinagar at www.armyinkashmir.org -- daily updated with cold, clear facts of war.

Personally, the truth about Kashmir is rather simple. Wars hurt people -- from Kosovo to Kargil, it's the same story. To understand this, it may help spending some time at www.antiwar.org where the wounds of war across the world are examined.

Arun Katiyar is Chief Operating Officer of India Today Group Online

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