Time Magazine List Of “100 Most Influential People”
The Charade By Rana Ayyub
Bashir Assad
The name Khurram Parvez suddenly cropped up on social media again in Kashmir this week. That is where the man’s presence is limited anyway. The social media.
The Time magazine diminished its worth in Kashmir by being the platform on which the following headline appeared.
Khurram Parvez: The 100 Most Influential People Of 2022.
The story was accompanied by some jargon that an Indian journalist by the name Rana Ayyub had cooked up for Parvez. “The softspoken Khurram Parvez is now seen as a modern day David who gave a voie to families that lost their children to enforced disappearances, allegedly by the Indian state,” wrote Ayyub.
Those who read the content in Kashmir laughed. Seriously, Time? More jargon was cooked up on the link given for Parvez.
This is the reason why global media houses like Time are losing credibility. They make their ‘Most Influential’ lists on the basis of hearsay. They base their assessments on newspaper reports that are churned out by the propaganda machinery. It is unfortunate that a media institution of the stature of Time should throw responsibility and accountability to the winds.
But here it is, right before us. Time appears ludicrous by putting Khurram Parvez on its “100 Most Influential” List for 2022. It is a laugh that Parvez should be listed as Among The 100 Most Influential People globally, when he is scarcely known even in Srinagar – let alone Kashmir.
Yes, the one place where Parvez has some presence is in the virtual world of social media, where his benefactors like Rana Ayyub and some others are constantly propping him up. The projection falls flat when it reaches ground zero in Kashmir. The few who know Parvez will tell you that he is a dubious character.
What is Parvez’s Contrbution To Kashmir
All the flowery language by Rana Ayyub apart, what has Parvez contributed to Kashmir that he should be listed among the 100 most influential people? The grandiose positioning by Ayyub is all drama. It’s all a hoax.
I wonder what was Ayyub assuming when she wrote these grand words for a rogue. Those famous lines of Sholay. Did she think Kashmir khuss hoga? Sabasi dega?
Ayyub may find it heartbreaking that the few in Kashmir who observed it laughed. The rest just let it pass as on as drivel.
Of course, if Ayyub expected sabasi to roll in from Pakistan, she may not have been disappointed. Like the wise say, Ayyub has evidently made good use of Time.
Talking About Disappearances In Kashmir
Yes, people have disappeared in Kashmir in the past. Disappearances have happened from both sides. Over the last 30 years, terrorists kidnapped thousands of Kashmiris. They disappeared. Their bodies were never returned to their families.
Then there were thousands of Kashmiris who were killed by the terrorists and their bodies were found. Did Parvez and his like ever stand up for them? Never. Ayyub is making Time clap for this agenda-driven man for whom thousands killed by terrorists didn’t matter? Is this new-age journalism – deliberately blind and willfully ignorant?
Let’s Talk About Human Rights
It was the late 90s. Syed Ali Geelani invited me to his Peerbagh residence. I reached there in the morning His close confidante Advocate Abdul Ahad Thoker alias Qazi Ahadullah was seated by his side. Some trivia from the morning now comes to my mind. Geelani was eating tandoori chicken.
Geelani asked me to take charge of the human rights department of Hurriyat Conference (G), headed by him.
I said Yes. I will do so, provided you allow me to take up human rights issues objectively, not subjectively.
Geelani’s expression hardened. I could see his displeasure at my words. Qazi Ahadullah was also visibly annoyed at my words.
I continued. Let me highlight the killings at the hands of the terrorists, I told Geelani. Then I will take up this task.
Geelani changed the subject. After a while, I left.
The question is that human rights are for all. A human rights champion is the one who highlights all kinds of human rights violations, irrespective of who is the perpetrator.
This has not been the case in Kashmir. The so-called human rights activists of Kashmir have always maintained criminal silence over the killings by terrorists in the valley.
Now for the argument that Parvez championed the cause of disappeared people. There is irrefutable evidence that this was agenda-driven business for Parvez and his clique. He minted money over it.
Who Makes Parvez A Hero?
When Parvez’s real credentials are known through Kashmir, who is making a hero of him? It is just a clique of journalists and civil society members who are making heroes of these rogues. Even prime time news channels are making heroes of these Pakistan stooges and rogues by constantly giving them space and seeking their ‘opinions’.
Who should be regarded as “influential people”? Those who work constructively for the society and give it positive direction. Herein lies one of the ongoing tragedies of Kashmir. Sponsors of terrorism are being listed as “influential people”. Kudos, Time!
