Meet Dave Eggers: Voice of Generation X

Author Dave Eggers

By Claire Suddath Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009

Author Dave Eggers

Beowulf Sheehan / Retna

After the publication of his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, critics labeled Dave Eggers the voice of a new generation. English majors adored him. The Pulitzer committee nominated him. But Eggers seemed relatively unaffected by his newfound fame. He launched a successful independent publishing house, McSweeney's, started an after-school tutoring center and went on to write a series of books that ranged from the wholly fictional (You Shall Know Our Velocity) to the almost entirely true (What Is the What). Now he has entered new literary territory with a thoroughly researched, completely factual account of one man's struggles during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That man is Abdulrahman Zeitoun (pronounced Zay-tune), a Syrian immigrant who stays in New Orleans after the hurricane hit to look after his property and is arrested on suspicion of looting. Eggers talks to TIME about Zeitoun the book, Zeitoun the man, and why his story is worth telling. (See pictures of Hurricane Katrina.)

How did you meet Zeitoun?
At the end of 2003 I was in Sudan with Valentino Deng, the protagonist of What Is the What. We met a number of women who had been abducted and enslaved as young girls. Their stories had only been told in brief accounts on human-rights reports, and I thought they needed to have a voice of some kind. A few months later I met Lola Vollen, a physician who was working with wrongfully convicted men and women in the U.S., and she said that the books out there about exonerated prisoners hadn't told the whole story. So we started a program called Voices of Witness, and the first book we put out was about exonerated prisoners. Then Katrina hit and that became the subject of our second book. We sent volunteers to Houston and Knoxville and New Orleans to interview people about their stories. Zeitoun was one of them.

What about his story made you say, "I want to write a whole book about this man"?
His family's story presents a very unique intersection of what happened during one of the worst natural disasters in American history and the problematic tendrils of the war on terror. The dysfunctional criminal-justice system, a terrorism-focused military, the Bush years — I think that what happened to Zeitoun could only have happened with the intersection of all of these forces. Wrongful incarceration is an interest of mine, so it touched me on a personal level.

The first half of the book is heartwarming, though, as Zeitoun paddles around in a canoe saving people. It was unlike any depiction of Katrina I saw on the news when it happened.
The media depictions of Katrina were so skewed, and they were aided and abetted by a lot of people on the ground. Everyone painted this picture of a city divulging into utter chaos. Most of these rumors proved unfounded. Neighborhoods experienced the storm differently. The Zeitouns live in Uptown, where for most of the time it was quite peaceful; Zeitoun talks about this incredible quiet, with the only noise coming from helicopters above. I was fascinated to know just how many people remained, even in a neighborhood like Uptown where most of the people have cars and the means to leave. There was such a high rate of death among the elderly in all neighborhoods because so many of them stayed.

What Is the What was a true story marketed as fiction. Zeitoun is listed as nonfiction. Why did you make this one nonfiction, and what was the difference?
I started on the book in 2006, only a year after Katrina. Very few of Zeitoun's memories had faded. We made a master calendar — when the water came up, when he was arrested, when he was transferred to the prison. For the most part we were able to independently corroborate all the dates and places and measurements. If Zeitoun said he saw a downed helicopter, I could find out online or through other journalists which helicopter that was. That made working in a strictly nonfiction environment much easier than it would have been for the war in southern Sudan, where for many years there was no news coming out of the area at all.

There's a school of thought among creative writers that journalism is not "real" writing, that only fiction or creative nonfiction is art. Do you agree?
Well, my background is journalism. I don't have any creative-writing experience except for one class I took as a sophomore in college. I worked at magazines for over 10 years before I even thought of writing a book. When I teach kids at [my tutoring center] 826 Valencia, the first thing I do is I send them out to report. They sign up for a class that they think is going to be creative writing, and I send them out to interview people. I think it's very important to know how to engage the world. If you want to write about people, you can make it up. But if you spend time talking to someone and examining what it is you want to write about, you discover a level of detail that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise. (Read "Hitchhiker's Cuba," a 1999 article Eggers wrote for TIME.)

It's been nine years since A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius came out, and you went from being unknown to being heralded as the voice of Generation X. What was it like when that book came out?
It was really unnerving and it shook me up a lot. I thought only a few people would ever read it. The first print run was only 8,000 or 9,000, and the publishers really thought they'd lose money on it. I also hadn't prepared for an older audience, but people with gray hair were reading it. That was unsettling because of all the cursing in the book. I was like, "Oh no, Uncle Fred is going to know I swear!" But I can't complain. I did warn Zeitoun, though. I said, "You have to know what you're getting into. This book might be huge, or it might go nowhere at all. You just never know."

Now when I say you can meet Dave Eggers, I literally mean, "meet Dave Eggers". He's going to be in Southern California on November 7, 2009. Come out and hear him speak, get an award and do a book signing for Zeitoun!

Members of Congress Blast Claims That Muslim Interns are 'Spies'

Mainstream media ridicule fringe right-wing GOP members

CAIR, America’s prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, applauded statements by members of the U.S. House of Representatives rejecting claims made by several of their GOP colleagues that Muslim congressional interns are "spies."

On Oct. 14, four right-wing members of Congress, with a long history of fringe or bigoted statements, launched a book called "Muslim Mafia" and asked for an investigation of Muslim "spies" on Capitol Hill. An article in Politico said the alleged spying by Muslims was in fact a "fairly straight forward public relations and lobbying strategy," with the goals of "'placing Muslim interns in congressional offices' and registering people to vote."

In a statement, CAIR said:

"It is troubling that right-wing elected officials would serve as publicity agents for extremists who seek to bar an American minority from exercising its constitutionally-protected rights. We applaud those who stand up for the right of all Americans to participate fully in our nation's political system.”


Watch these short media interviews on this issue:

CAIR Video: Rachel Maddow Exposes Anti-Muslim Extremists (MSNBC)

Round 2 of Rachel Maddow Exposes Anti-Islam Extremists in Congress (MSNBC)

CAIR Rep Discusses ‘Manchurian Interns’ on CNN

In response to the right-wing smears, the Atlanta Journal called CAIR a "mainstream, all-American civil liberties and advocacy group." An article on Salon.com called the actions of the elected officials who launched the anti-Muslim book the "most despicable domestic political event of the year."

The demand for a probe of Muslim "spies" in Congress drew condemnation from other elected officials, one of whom called it a "witch hunt."

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) issued a statement, which read in part:

"I am appalled by this request [for an investigation of Muslim 'spies' in Congress], and the insinuation that Muslim-Americans are somehow conspiring against this country through their work on Capitol Hill. As a strong advocate for diversity and religious freedom, I find these claims to be outrageous and offensive. I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued the following statement in support of American Muslim congressional interns:

"It shouldn't need to be said in 2009, and after the historic election of our first African-American president, but let me remind all my colleagues that patriotic Americans of all races, religions, and beliefs have the right - and the responsibility - to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in Congressional offices. Numerous Muslim-American interns have served the House ably and they deserve our appreciation and respect, not attacks on their character or patriotism."


Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, stated in part:

“These fallacious allegations implicate the existence of a society still struggling with anti-Muslim sentiment. My Muslim colleagues in the House of Representatives, along with the highly qualified, patriotic and committed Muslim staffers and interns that have worked with my office and with CAPAC, contribute mightily to our democratic process. Any slander against these fellow patriots is slander against democracy and religious freedom.”

Dave Gaubatz, the anti-Islam blogger who co-authored "Muslim Mafia," has a long history of bigotry targeting Islam and Muslims. Gaubatz has called Islam an "evil ideology" and worked for a racist group that sought to make "adherence to Islam" punishable by a 20-year prison term.

SEE ALSO: Republican Lawmakers Leading Witch Hunt Against Muslim Group
http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/200910150008

In the past, Gaubatz has been questioned by state and federal law enforcement authorities for actions that were perceived as those of a stalker. CAIR has filed a criminal report against Gaubatz over materials he and his son say they stole from the civil rights group's offices.

Gaubatz has also called President Obama a "crack head" and wrote that "a vote for Hussein Obama is a vote for Sharia Law." He also called Islam a "terminal disease that once spread is hard to destroy."

It is unfortunate that there is a fringe segment of Americans who wish to promote hatred against American Muslims and intimidate them from exercising their rights to engage politically. Despite the attempts of this new McCarthyism, CAIR and the American Muslim community remain committed to encouraging dialogue, protecting civil liberties of all Americans, and promoting justice and mutual understanding.

Dovish Jews? They love Israel? Excommunicate them

by Bradley Burston @Haaretz

We don't need them. They'll never see things our way, no matter what. Let them go.

t's a new Israeli approach which borrows from the very worst of our aging instincts. It says: We're moral, our enemies are out to exterminate us along with our state, that's all you need to know. No modifications necessary. Stay the course. Concede nothing. Ease no siege. Give no ground. Ever.

It is a radical redefinition of Postmodern Zionism, this time from the right. Over the past weeks, it's been test-run in our relations with Turkey, with the Goldstone Commission, with Mahmoud Abbas - and with consistent results.

Now it's about to be tried on North American Jewry, some 6 million strong, a community at a critical crossroads, one that will have lasting and - if mishandled - dangerous consequences for Israel.

The opening shot was fired this month by the former chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress, Isi Liebler, who declared it "our obligation to confront the enemy within - renegade Jews - including Israelis who stand at the vanguard of global efforts to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish state."

"Such odious Jews can be traced back to apostates during the Middle Ages who fabricated blood libels and vile distortions of Jewish religious practice for Christian anti-Semites to incite hatred which culminated in massacres," Liebler wrote in the Jerusalem Post. "It was in response to these renegades that the herem [excommunication] was introduced."

Citing the example of Jewish communists who applauded Stalinist executions of fellow Jews on trumped-up charges, Liebler added, "Like their contemporary counterparts, some of them attempted to depict themselves as devoted Jews championing 'world peace.'"

Among these counterparts, it develops, is J Street, the new dovish lobbying organization which describes itself as pro-Israel and pro-peace. Writing ahead of J Street's first annual national conference, which begins on Sunday in Washington, Liebler argued that although J Street and other U.S. Jewish groups critical of Israel may describe themselves as Zionist, "their prime objective is to pressure the U.S. government to use 'tough love' against Israel - a euphemism for demanding that the Jewish state make further unilateral concessions to neighbors pledged to its annihilation."

Israel's official response to J Street, which though less than two years old has been described as a counterweight to AIPAC, has been measured but far from welcoming. The embassy has neither accepted nor rejected J Street's invitation to Ambassador Michael Oren to speak at the conference.

Last week, with the invitation still unanswered, Israeli Embassy spokesman Yoni Peled was quoted as expressing concern over J Street positions at odds with those of the government in Jerusalem.

"While recognizing the need for a free and open debate on these issues, it is important to stress concern over certain policies [of J Street] that could impair Israel's interests," an apparent reference to such J Street stances as backing for President Barack Obama's call for an absolute freeze on settlements and the group's opposition to immediate sanctions on Iran.

Soon after, J Street renewed its request that Oren speak to the conference. It noted research which has shown younger Jews increasingly alienated from the Jewish community and from Israel, and increasingly questioning many of Israel's right-wing policies, public statements, and actions.

The erudite, often outspoken Oren has been uncharacteristically mum in response to the request, despite, or perhaps because of, the long list of some 150 U.S. senators and members of Congress which J Street has published as honorary hosts of a gala dinner during the conference. The list has apparently dismayed both AIPAC and conservative commentators.

The ambassador should accept the invitation. He should speak forthrightly on the ways Israel's government views the future differently from J Street and the other dovish groups co-sponsoring the gathering. Together, they represent a growing segment of the future of U.S. Jewry, a community with which Israel cannot afford to lose touch.

To slight the conference is to dismiss the deep love of Israel felt by many of its critics abroad. To send a low-level diplomat in place of the ambassador sends a message which in some respects can only please Isi Liebler, and the subtext of his message: These doves, they're not really pro-Israel. They can't be. They're doves. And they're not really Jews. How could they be? Not only are they doves, most of them aren't even Orthodox.

Liebler, meanwhile, has another plan. Because Benjamin Netanyahu is "currently riding a wave after his superb United Nations address," Liebler writes, he should convene a global Jewish solidarity conference of Jewish leaders, opinion makers, philanthropists and activists "in order to demonstrate the unity of the Jewish people."

And what of J Street and the spectrum of Jewish leftists and peace advocates? The world unity conference would deal with them as well. According to Liebler, "in addition to encouraging millions of Jews in the Diaspora who remain committed to Israel to become more actively engaged in our struggle, such a gathering would also provide an opportunity to exorcise the renegades from our midst."

Why I love comedians like Dean Obeidallah...

The Muslims Are Coming!

by Dean Obeidallah (@the huffington)

Not only are Muslims coming -- but they want to take over America! At least that's what four Republican Members of Congress alleged today.

Representatives John Shadegg (Ariz.), Paul Broun (Ga.), Trent Franks (Ariz.) and Sue Myrick (N.C.) are alarmed because they found Muslims trying to lobby Congress. Can you believe that? Muslims-Americans actually want to have input into the American political system! Thank God (a/k/a Allah) that we have these four Congressional watch dogs on the job being paid with our tax dollars to warn of the Muslims dastardly plan to influence legislation.

These elected "officials" timed their allegation to coincide with the release of the book: Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America, written by Dave Gaubatz -- a man who claimed last year that a vote for "Hussein Obama is a vote for Sharia Law."

Now I want to digress for a moment to say that a "Muslim Mafia" does sound cool on some level. Americans love mafia shows so this "Muslim Mafia" could inspire the first show on US TV to star Muslims. Or maybe I like the term "Muslim Mafia" so much because my father is Muslim and my Mom is Sicilian. With this pedigree, I'm a shoe-in for a top position in the "Muslim Mafia."

Back to the real issue: Are Muslims really trying to take over America? Most estimates indicate that there are 3-4 million Muslims in the United States. In order for Muslims to take over, simple math says they have to be at least 50 percent of the 300 million Americans. As of now, Muslims are still about 147 million people short.

In an effort to speed up the Muslim take over of America -- which on some level would probably help my comedy career because I'll get even more bookings by Muslim groups -- my fellow Arab-American comedians Aron Kader and Maysoon Zayid went out to the streets of NYC with me to see if we could recruit Americans to Islam. (We did this a little while back when we first heard this allegation.) We offered prizes to people to convert to Islam, such as a toaster, a blender and even Sudoku. Here is a clip of our efforts to convert Americans!

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-obeidallah/the-muslims-are-coming_b_321764.html

Congressmen Mike Honda on DC Muslim Interns

"At the heart of this issue is whether or not diverse populations are given a fair shot at representing their legitimate political interests in Congress, either as interns, as staff or as Members. The climate in Congress is clearly not as conducive as it should be in encouraging democratic representation, as exemplified by recent fear-rousing antics.As a result of the innumerous obstacles facing Muslim-Americans in this post-9/11 environment, their political participation is stifled and often stymied. More channels for Muslim participation are sorely needed, as well as a friendlier climate that embraces, not discourages, diversity. These fallacious allegations implicate the existence of a society still struggling with anti-Muslim sentiment. My Muslim colleagues in the House of Representatives, along with the highly qualified, patriotic and committed Muslim staffers and interns that have worked with my office and with CAPAC, contribute mightily to our democratic process. Any slander against these fellow patriots is slander against democracy and religious freedom."

Life's Tedious Responsibilities

If your like me, cleaning sucks. In fact, being a neat freak and a procrastinating-chore-avoider does not go well. I cease to function when my environment is dirty, messy and not organized in a uncluttered fashion. Having lived with people for several years as room mates and apartment mates it was a seasonal thing and we pulled together to get our act together. Having now lived two years by myself its easier to allow the clutter to pile up, and far less interesting to actually get things organized. However, it doesn't get unmanageable or filthy/disgusting/trash dump type. Things have a place and are usually there, but when work and social life gets busy things begin to fall apart, and piles appear and things get pushed back- like scrubbing the sink, or washing the floor mats- making things look messier.

Picking up the pieces and going back to the "clean" I can live with, is a bit more difficult and it takes me a week or two to get things put together. Literally during this time of my life- banquet, Ramadan, Eid al-adha, Eid al-fitr, peoples weddings, work related events- its like a category 5 hurricane has gone through my house and my life.

I been looking, asking around for advice on how better to handle the domestic duties and keeping up with the mess and possibly avoiding it all together. I found this at Apartment Therapy, and its worth sharing:

Making Cleaning Less Of A Chore
Even the people that claim to really love cleaning, get sidetracked. Here's a few tips to staying on target and tackling what you can in the time your schedule allows:

• Set A Timer: Only have 10 minutes to tackle a project? You'd be surprised what you can clean in a small amount of time. Set a timer to help you keep track. When it goes off, switch to something else, or head out the door if you have plans. 3-10 minute breaks during a day is a solid half hour's worth of time!
• Music Music Music: Its far easier to get lost in your work when you're singing along to your favorite record. If you're short on time, only clean for a few songs or one side of a record!
• Clean One Surface At A Time: Often we feel like we aren't making any progress when we clean. Tackle one surface at a time. That way, even if you take a break and sit back, you can feel victorious that you at least uncovered the coffee table.
• Work Clockwise: Don't get distracted or bogged down by the unshelved books in the corner, or the pile of clean laundry waiting to be put away. Pick one spot in your room and work clockwise from there. It will make it easy to pick back up if you have to stop to answer the phone or take the dog for a walk.
• Make "Other Room" Piles: Economy of motion can cut back on the amount of time you spend cleaning. Chances are that the clutter plaguing your spaces comes from many of the same places. Make small piles of things to go other places. Don't leave the space your working on until it's 100% done—then visit other places to put away goods where they belong. Don't leave them in piles inside the doorways either, having to touch things twice only makes double work.

Got idea's? Suggestions? Advice? Please feel free to share and also "Happy cleaning!"

This Is Funk'ed Up

Reconsider Columbus Day?

I don't fall into a particular mindset on this issue. I personally care more for getting a day off, then what that day is for. However, I find the argument compelling. We as a nation should consider what it is we celebrate, is Columbus a worthy enough historical figure to celebrate a "Columbus Day"?

All our federal and state holidays do have significant meaning, and when examined they serve a purpose to honor the legacy of those we are celebrating. However, each one of those holidays honor individuals who have all together left a positive legacy. Columbus, while not his fault for bringing a 16th century European reality under a 21st century microscope, has left a significant negative affect on the peoples and cultures of the America's and Africa. Watch the video, go to the website, judge for yourselves- call the day what you want, but I would like my three day weekend, even though I am currently at work sharing this with you as I got it from various colleagues who are also at work.

"Does President Obama Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Yes, He Can!"

by Stephen Rohde

When the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to President Obama, they praised his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." That was a dramatic departure from the belligerency and unilateralism of the Bush administration. President Obama has indeed raised hopes that the US will end torture, close Guantanamo, reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal, and withdraw troops from Iraq. These are noble aspirations worthy of recognition, but will tragically be remembered as mere rhetoric unless President Obama takes concrete steps to accomplish them.

As the chair of a group of people of diverse faiths who have been meeting since 9/11 to promote justice and peace, I agree with President Obama that the Peace Prize is a "call to action." We hope it will encourage and challenge him not only to fulfill his promises, but to go further. It is not enough to withdraw troops from Iraq, he should also have an exit strategy for promptly withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

Announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize came nearly eight years to the day after the US invasion of Afghanistan on Oct 7, 2001. Eight years of bloody war have passed—one of the longest wars in US history—and the situation in Afghanistan has grown worse, not better, according to most experts, even those who support this war. There have been 1,381 coalition deaths in Afghanistan, with the numbers spiking in the past two years. Civilian deaths—more than 2,000 Afghans were killed last year alone, according to the United Nations—have been a decisive factor in souring many Afghans on the war.

The majority of both Afghans and Americans now want us to leave. Yet many military experts are saying that we may be “obliged” to stay in Afghanistan for forty years or more to turn it into the kind of nation we want it to be.

No foreign power has ever had a military “success” in Afghanistan—all have been forced to leave, usually ignominiously, because the Afghan people do not want a foreign power to impose its will on them. Sooner or later, we will have to leave Afghanistan just like the Russians and the British.

Our endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are draining our national treasure as well as causing needless deaths. We are spending 130 billion dollars per year on our military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan—which is considerably more than Obama’s health plan would cost per year.

In accepting the Peace Prize, President Obama needs to realize that the problems of this region cannot be solved militarily. We must decrease our dependence on military solutions and increase our diplomatic efforts and development aid. We need to remember that terrorism cannot be ended by killing innocent people, especially mothers and children, as all too often happens in times of war.

To be worthy of the honor that the Nobel Committee has bestowed, President Obama needs to take several decisive actions. To live up to the ideals of the Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama should create a Department of Peace, a cabinet level agency with the mandate to seek peaceful solutions to international conflicts.

He must keep his promise to close Guantanamo and also close the notorious Bagram prison in Afghanistan. He must hold fully accountable all those who used, and authorized the use of, torture by the US government, be they high government officials, Justice department lawyers or CIA agents.

President Obama must withdraw our occupying forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and stop supporting the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the siege of Gaza. He must insist that Israel abide by UN resolutions calling for an end to occupation of lands seized during the 1967 war and work for a peaceful, just two-state solution to the problem of Israel/Palestine.

As the best way to ensure peace and security, President Obama must reduce our bloated military budget and spend more on domestic needs at home and development needs abroad. To show the world that we are a responsible, law-abiding nation. President Obama needs to actively support the international court and international law.

In 1993, when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, Nelson Mandela invoked the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who said that "humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war." Mandela passionately called for "a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees."

If President Obama fulfills these goals, he will indeed be worthy of the Peace Prize. It won't be easy, but he has given us hope that peace is possible. We believe that yes, he can!

____________________________________

Stephen Rohde is Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, a group of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and others formed in the wake of 9/11

Azadi, Azadi- I want my AZADI!

Many of you might not know this, and its not anything I really go around telling people, but my ancestry, or part of it, comes from Kashmir. Several generations, probably five generations ago from my rough estimate, my mothers side of the family arrived in what is now Uttar Pardesh, India, or back when they arrived, probably have been known as the Delhi Sultanate. Wool traders, who came by way of Persia, they had settled in Kashmir and then business brought them to the UP. There is a distant part of me that identifies with the people, land and culture of Kashmir- if not more symbolically then anything else. I strongly adhere to the policy that Kashmir is best left free of Pakistan and free of India- in essence Azadi, or freedom.

I particularly found this piece by Arundhati Roy to be an educational read, titled, "What have we done to democracy?" she explores the "New Cold War in Kashmir", below you will find that section in its full, but I highly recommend that you read the entire piece at Huffington Post when you get a chance, it is well worth your time:

A New Cold War in Kashmir

Speaking of consensus, there's the small and ever-present matter of Kashmir. When it comes to Kashmir the consensus in India is hard core. It cuts across every section of the establishment -- including the media, the bureaucracy, the intelligentsia, and even Bollywood.

The war in the Kashmir valley is almost 20 years old now, and has claimed about 70,000 lives. Tens of thousands have been tortured, several thousand have "disappeared," women have been raped, tens of thousands widowed. Half a million Indian troops patrol the Kashmir valley, making it the most militarized zone in the world. (The United States had about 165,000 active-duty troops in Iraq at the height of its occupation.) The Indian Army now claims that it has, for the most part, crushed militancy in Kashmir. Perhaps that's true. But does military domination mean victory?

How does a government that claims to be a democracy justify a military occupation? By holding regular elections, of course. Elections in Kashmir have had a long and fascinating past. The blatantly rigged state election of 1987 was the immediate provocation for the armed uprising that began in 1990. Since then elections have become a finely honed instrument of the military occupation, a sinister playground for India's deep state. Intelligence agencies have created political parties and decoy politicians, they have constructed and destroyed political careers at will. It is they more than anyone else who decide what the outcome of each election will be. After every election, the Indian establishment declares that India has won a popular mandate from the people of Kashmir.

In the summer of 2008, a dispute over land being allotted to the Amarnath Shrine Board coalesced into a massive, nonviolent uprising. Day after day, hundreds of thousands of people defied soldiers and policemen -- who fired straight into the crowds, killing scores of people -- and thronged the streets. From early morning to late in the night, the city reverberated to chants of "Azadi! Azadi!" (Freedom! Freedom!). Fruit sellers weighed fruit chanting "Azadi! Azadi!" Shopkeepers, doctors, houseboat owners, guides, weavers, carpet sellers -- everybody was out with placards, everybody shouted "Azadi! Azadi!" The protests went on for several days.

The protests were massive. They were democratic, and they were nonviolent. For the first time in decades fissures appeared in mainstream public opinion in India. The Indian state panicked. Unsure of how to deal with this mass civil disobedience, it ordered a crackdown. It enforced the harshest curfew in recent memory with shoot-on-sight orders. In effect, for days on end, it virtually caged millions of people. The major pro-freedom leaders were placed under house arrest, several others were jailed. House-to-house searches culminated in the arrests of hundreds of people.

Once the rebellion was brought under control, the government did something extraordinary -- it announced elections in the state. Pro-independence leaders called for a boycott. They were rearrested. Almost everybody believed the elections would become a huge embarrassment for the Indian government. The security establishment was convulsed with paranoia. Its elaborate network of spies, renegades, and embedded journalists began to buzz with renewed energy. No chances were taken. (Even I, who had nothing to do with any of what was going on, was put under house arrest in Srinagar for two days.)

Calling for elections was a huge risk. But the gamble paid off. People turned out to vote in droves. It was the biggest voter turnout since the armed struggle began. It helped that the polls were scheduled so that the first districts to vote were the most militarized districts even within the Kashmir valley.

None of India's analysts, journalists, and psephologists cared to ask why people who had only weeks ago risked everything, including bullets and shoot-on-sight orders, should have suddenly changed their minds. None of the high-profile scholars of the great festival of democracy -- who practically live in TV studios when there are elections in mainland India, picking apart every forecast and exit poll and every minor percentile swing in the vote count -- talked about what elections mean in the presence of such a massive, year-round troop deployment (an armed soldier for every 20 civilians).

No one speculated about the mystery of hundreds of unknown candidates who materialized out of nowhere to represent political parties that had no previous presence in the Kashmir valley. Where had they come from? Who was financing them? No one was curious. No one spoke about the curfew, the mass arrests, the lockdown of constituencies that were going to the polls.

Not many talked about the fact that campaigning politicians went out of their way to de-link Azadi and the Kashmir dispute from elections, which they insisted were only about municipal issues -- roads, water, electricity. No one talked about why people who have lived under a military occupation for decades -- where soldiers could barge into homes and whisk away people at any time of the day or night -- might need someone to listen to them, to take up their cases, to represent them.

The minute elections were over, the establishment and the mainstream press declared victory (for India) once again. The most worrying fallout was that in Kashmir, people began to parrot their colonizers' view of themselves as a somewhat pathetic people who deserved what they got. "Never trust a Kashmiri," several Kashmiris said to me. "We're fickle and unreliable." Psychological warfare, technically known as psy-ops, has been an instrument of official policy in Kashmir. Its depredations over decades -- its attempt to destroy people's self-esteem -- are arguably the worst aspect of the occupation. It's enough to make you wonder whether there is any connection at all between elections and democracy.

The trouble is that Kashmir sits on the fault lines of a region that is awash in weapons and sliding into chaos. The Kashmiri freedom struggle, with its crystal clear sentiment but fuzzy outlines, is caught in the vortex of several dangerous and conflicting ideologies -- Indian nationalism (corporate as well as "Hindu," shading into imperialism), Pakistani nationalism (breaking down under the burden of its own contradictions), U.S. imperialism (made impatient by a tanking economy), and a resurgent medieval-Islamist Taliban (fast gaining legitimacy, despite its insane brutality, because it is seen to be resisting an occupation). Each of these ideologies is capable of a ruthlessness that can range from genocide to nuclear war. Add Chinese imperial ambitions, an aggressive, reincarnated Russia, and the huge reserves of natural gas in the Caspian region and persistent whispers about natural gas, oil, and uranium reserves in Kashmir and Ladakh, and you have the recipe for a new Cold War (which, like the last one, is cold for some and hot for others).

In the midst of all this, Kashmir is set to become the conduit through which the mayhem unfolding in Afghanistan and Pakistan spills into India, where it will find purchase in the anger of the young among India's 150 million Muslims who have been brutalized, humiliated, and marginalized. Notice has been given by the series of terrorist strikes that culminated in the Mumbai attacks of 2008.

There is no doubt that the Kashmir dispute ranks right up there, along with Palestine, as one of the oldest, most intractable disputes in the world. That does not mean that it cannot be resolved. Only that the solution will not be completely to the satisfaction of any one party, one country, or one ideology. Negotiators will have to be prepared to deviate from the "party line."

Of course, we haven't yet reached the stage where the government of India is even prepared to admit that there's a problem, let alone negotiate a solution. Right now it has no reason to. Internationally, its stocks are soaring. And while its neighbors deal with bloodshed, civil war, concentration camps, refugees, and army mutinies, India has just concluded a beautiful election. However, "demon-crazy" can't fool all the people all the time. India's temporary, shotgun solutions to the unrest in Kashmir (pardon the pun), have magnified the problem and driven it deep into a place where it is poisoning the aquifers.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arundhati-roy/what-have-we-done-to-demo_b_301294.html