Kashmir separatists want Mehta concert scrapped

Agencies/SrinagarKashmiri separatists are demanding the cancellation of a concert by celebrated conductor Zubin Mehta to be staged in the state next month, saying it would legitimise Indian “state repression.” The concert by the Mumbai-born Mehta on September 7 is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir state tourism department and the German embassy in New Delhi. Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani appealed to Germany to call off the concert, saying it “legitimises state repression” in the state. Another senior separatist leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, echoed Geelani’s call and suggested money for the concert would be better spent on a “Kashmir-German friendship hospital.” “Musical concerts and killings can’t go hand-in-hand... Germany has to understand the ground situation,” he told reporters. Civil society and human rights activists in Kashmir also urged Germany to call off the concert, saying in a letter it “must not allow itself to be party to activities that seek to further legitimise the Indian occupation.” Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Bashir-ud-Din also appealed to German ambassador Michael Steiner to reconsider holding the concert and instead support education and healthcare in the state.“I had decided not to comment on the forthcoming musical concert in Srinagar and leave the decision to the people whether they approve of such activities or not.“But, I have been approached by many religious, social and civil society groups on the issue and I personally feel holding such musical shows sends out the wrong signal that the people of Kashmir are prosperous and have the leisure to participate in such high profile events,” he said.Both the Kashmir government and the German embassy declined comment. Mehta, 77, will conduct the Bavarian State Orchestra in works by Beethoven, Haydn and Tchaikovsky for an invited audience of 1,500. The event will be held in the sprawling Shalimar Mughal gardens under the mighty Chinar trees on the banks of the picturesque Dal Lake in the state’s summer capital Srinagar. Not all Kashmiris oppose the concert. “It’s a lifetime opportunity to listen to timeless music live,” art critic Lalit Gupta said. Ambassador Steiner said last week the concert was “for the people of Kashmir.” “With the magic power of music, crossing geographical, political and cultural borders, we want to reach the hearts of the Kashmiris with a message of hope,” he said. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989. The fighting has left tens of thousands of people dead. Kashmir has been relatively calm in recent years but there have been new, deadly outbreaks of violence along the border between Indian and Pakistani forces.