Kashmir Day

Today is Kashmir day. The day we show solidarity with the Kashmiri people suffering decades of violence and occupation. It all started in 1947, when the British left the Indian subcontinent and gave the option to all states whether to join India or Pakistan or stay independent. The population of Jammu and Kashmir was Muslim majority and naturally wanted the join Pakistan. However, the ruler of Kashmir was a Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh. He wanted to remain independent. People revolted in western Kashmir to overthrow the Raja, and their neighbor tribesmen crossed the border to help them. They were advancing fast towards the center. The Hindu ruler asked India for military help to save his throne, but India refused to help unless he joined India. So he joined India and India invaded Kashmir.

Later, India took the issue to UN in 1948, which passed a resolution asking for a Plebiscite so that the people could themselves decide upon the fate of their state. Both India and Pakistan agreed to this. However, the plebiscite never took place. Pakistan has repeatedly called for the plebiscite according to UN resolution, but India refuses and claims that Kashmir is a part of India. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 47 on April 21, 1948, which stated "that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations". The cease fire took place on December 31, 1948.

The UN Security Council later passed four new resolutions, revising the terms of Resolution 47 to include a synchronous withdrawal of both Indian and Pakistani troops from the region, per the recommendations of General Andrew McNaughton. Uptil now UN arbitrators put forward 11 different proposals for the demilitarization of the region - every one of which was accepted by Pakistan, but rejected by the Indian government. Let us hope and work to get this plebiscite done in Jammu and Kashmir and let the people decide. Pakistan says that it would accept any decision from the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, this is not acceptable to India.

Problem solved: Windows 7 slow on dell notebook

Ever since I installed Windows 7, my laptop was very slow. Whenever I ran vlc, I had to close all other applications to save it from dying down. I solved the problem with my Windows 7 being too slow. Well, it is a long story: I had a dell notebook which when charged its battery full, would disconnect the battery and run the laptop on direct power. Due to many problems, I got it replaced, but the new laptop (1521) lacked this feature of disconnecting the battery. As a result, my battery wore out after 2 years, while the earlier laptop's battery was good even after 2.5 years of use. Since we always use the laptop at home, I let the battery inside and use it as desktop replacement. A few days back, when I turned my laptop on, it said that my battery was almost dead and thus my computer could run slow. Walla ... that was the reason. I removed the battery, and the laptop now runs fast, much better than Vista. (however, not when I run Vuze) :)