Indo-American
Kashmir Forum (IAKF), the premier organization
representing Kashmiri Hindus in the U.S.,
is pleased to announce a symposium, titled,
"From
Paradise to Ideological Battleground: A Symposium
on the Kashmir Conflict", to be held
in the Northern California Bay Area on June 9,
2001 at Newark-Fremont Hilton. The purpose of the
symposium is to inform and educate the interested
audience on the latest events in Jammu and Kashmir
State of India, and discuss possible avenues of
conflict resolution. Jammu and Kashmir became an
international issue in 1947 when Pakistan
sponsored an invasion of the state, and India took
the case of Pakistani aggression to the United
Nations. Since then Pakistan has made numerous
attempts toforce secession of the state from
India.Overt and covert threats of nuclear action
by Pakistan since 1991 to back its sponsorship of
the violence
have led many international observers to consider
the state a nuclear flashpoint. During the past 12
years,the introduction of Islamic fundamentalism
and Talibanism has further complicated the
situation, with insurgents justifying their
violent acts on the concept of Jehad and bringing
extreme and widespread misery to the civilian
population of the State. An endless stream of
Pakistan-trained mercenaries and terrorists flood
the state every year, with thousands of "madrassas"
and terrorist training camps in Pakistan and
Afghanistan acting as jehad factories for young
Muslims from around the world. The ultimate target
of this jehad enterprise is not just Kashmir, but
the rest of India, and ultimately the entire
world.The 1989 Kashmir insurgency began with
ethnic cleansing of over 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits,
the original inhabitants of the state. This
minority is still unable to return to its homeland
due to
continued threats from Pakistan-sponsored
terrorists. The Kashmiri Pandit community is now
dispersed
throughout India and the world and is struggling
to keep its culture and identity alive while in
exile. The panel of speakers who have accepted the
invitation to address the symposium are well known
Kashmir experts and policy makers. They include
Congressman Jim McDermott, co-chair of the India
Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives,
Ambassadors Teresita and Howard Schaffer, Director
of Terrorism Task Force,
Yossef Bodansky, Prof. SarDesai of UCLA and Prof.
Raju Thomas of Marquette University.
The symposium has been endorsed by
prominent leaders
and many organizations like
National Federation of Indian-American
Associations
(N.F.I.A)
Indo-American Community Federation,
Indian American Friendship Council,
Indo-American Political Foundation,
F.I.A of Bay Area (Ben Chowdhury),
F.I.A of Northern California (Anil Yadav),
Indo-American Society of Bay Area,
Hindu Temple, Sunnyvale
and many others.
The symposium is a full day affair on Saturday,
June 9th from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Following the
symposium, the cultural night will begin at 6:30
P.M. with a 30 minute presentation on preservation
of
Kashmiri language and music. This will be followed
by a preview of a premier documentary "Sharnarthi
Apne
Desh Mein"(Refugees in Their Own Land).
A program of melodious songs will be presented
from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, including performances by
a
Kashmiri singer from Bombay who will mesmerize the
participants with the finest Kashmiri and Hindi
songs.
The symposium convener can be contacted at
(510)589-3702 or by email at jeevanzutshi@ aol.com for
further information.
AN INDO-AMERICAN KASHMIR FORUM
PRESENTATION
From a Paradise to Ideological Battleground: A
Symposium on the Kashmir Conflict
Saturday, June 9, 2001
Newark- Fremont Hilton, Grand Ball Room
Sponsored by
National Federation of Indo-American Associations
(N.F.I.A)
Indo-American Community Federation
Indian American Friendship Council
Indo-American Political Foundation
F.I.A of Bay Area
F.I.A
of Northern California (Anil Yadav)
Indo-American Society of Bay Area
Hindu Temple, Sunnyvale
Program
9:30 - 10:00 Welcoming Remarks Moderator:Jeevan
Zutshi, Convenor
Speakers:
Honorable Mayor of Fremont Gus Morrison,Assembly
member John Dutra,Jeevan Zutshi
10:00 - 10:15 Break
Photographs/Artifacts from Kashmir will be on
display in the lobby.
10:15 - 11:15 Session I: Historical Perspective
Moderator: Subash Razdan, N.F.I.A (Atlanta)
Speakers:
Prof. D.R. SarDesai, U.C.L.A
Yossef Bodansky, Director, Task Force On Terrorism
(D.C)
Dr. Hira L. Fotedar, IAKF (Michigan)
Q& A
11:15- 12:15 Session II: Impact of Insurgency
Moderator: Rajiv Pandit, M.D (Chicago)
Speakers:
Honorable Consul General R.M.Abhyankar
Mumtaz Wani, Attorney (D.C)
Captain S. K. Tikoo (India)
Q& A
12:15 - 2:00 luncheon Session
Moderator: Dr. Krishna Reddy
Keynote Speaker:
Congressman Jim McDermott, Co-Chair India Caucus
2:00 - 3:00 Session III: Restoring Normalcy
Moderator: Dr. Vijay K. Sazawal, IAKF
Speakers:
Ambassador Howard Schaffer
Prof. D. R. Sardesai, UCLA
Shri D.N.Munshi, New Delhi, India
Q& A
3:00 -4:00 Session IV: Framework for Peace
Moderator: Prof. D. R. Sardesai, Historian,
UCLA
Speakers:
Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, Director South Asia
Program, Center for Strategic & International
studies
Prof. Raju Thomas
Dr. Vijay K. Sazawal, IAKF
Q& A
4:00 - 4:15 Closing Remarks
7:00
PM to Midnight
Cultural festival with Kashmiri Singer from Bombay
For further information contact:
Jeevan Zutshi at (510) 589-3702 or by email at
jeevanzutshi@aol.com
