[2Gkashmiri]

here https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/jk-a...

not allowed to use VPNs because national security issues.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/india-launches-fresh-c...

"social media muisuse"

i remember last year this word was so much used, "misuse" which translates to criticizing the ruiling dictator government. it still is,

https://thenextweb.com/in/2020/01/08/kashmirs-police-want-pe...

here. a whatsapp group needs to be "registered" with police.

and lastly more recently, https://theintercept.com/2020/12/06/kashmir-social-media-pol...

this is a reason why i never signed up for whatsapp, havent joined signal, don't tweet or post on facebook. Why? because PII

the danger is real and i am living it. people better realize it

[hutzlibu]

Well, if a government goes authorian, than it does not matter much, what service you use, if you have to assume your phone has spyware on it.

If the main danger is, police scanning the phone for compromised material (without a police spyware on it), then there are some ways to deal with it technically, by using services that don't leave a trace. Telegram for example has a "secret chat" function, which won't save the messages, meaning someone scanning your phone later, won't find them.

(which I head is also a main reason for many people to join telegram, because so they can chat with their affairs and not have their wifes read it)

Then there are simply private tabs of chrome or ff, from where you can use chat-services without trace. (if the chat services are not cooperating with the police, or are decentralised by default, I think in that scenario I would use matrix)

Anyway, you live in kashmir?

I know mainly of the conflict by reading Shalimar the Clown, from Rushdie. Just curious about your opinion, if you know the book. I heard it was not well received in Kashmir itself? I think it was very well written, but I don't know how accurate it is.

[2Gkashmiri]

Yeah. Just last year I had to teach neighbours and such to use a launcher like Evie which lets you hide apps. Many were stopped during random street checks and that saved their Turkey. Heh.

8 months or so ago I was stooped because it looked like I was "recording a video" on my phone when actually I was. Took a slow turn, double press power button and pickachu face that I wasnt. Still a couple guys around helped or I was history.

No. I havent read Rushdie. It has that whole demon verse thing around him, he isnt liked

The problem with telegram as with WhatsApp and signal is phone numbers. India has had this network analyzer on isp level for like 6-7 years, called "netra". So all unencrypted traffic goes through it. Same for all encrypted traffic. This is the reason why I stopped using tor, because my traffic would show up uniquely than rest and that gets them suspicious quickly.

There is a lot of text written on the conflict which actually is more than 500 years old. Kashmir has been under foreign oppressive occupation for over 500 years constantly and even today is under 3 nations. Its not like the occupation wont affect the people.

I am trying to get people I know on matrix because there is no PII, waiting for dendrite to come out of beta so that I can set up my own server and such.

The joys of living in an open air prison.

[hutzlibu]

"No. I havent read Rushdie. It has that whole demon verse thing around him, he isnt liked"

Well, he did made many people aware of the conflict, which created attention, which results in indian police having to give interviews to the intercept for example, which helps in some ways. Things would probably be darker without.

How is your opinion on a political solution?

Do you think independence would work out (if your big neigbhours would let you)?

My understanding is, that the kashmir population in itself is divided?

Anyway, hope you stay safe.

[2Gkashmiri]

i "think" i am safe. Recently a prominent lawyer was assassinated in broad daylight, that has gotten me scared. other than that this place is actually safer for non combatants than rest of the subcontinent and i can say that with authority. the governments otoh are not safe for people.

from what i have observed and from facts, at least on the indian occupied side, india spend like millions to convince entire generations about a local hero who happened to be pro india.

https://zeenews.india.com/india/at-2-3-per-cent-turnout-srin...

this was a couple years ago.

yeah so its not like people are not protesting, we just don't see a point in the conventional protests. kashmir has been fighting foreign invaders for over 500 years so its kinda in the system, to oppose.

as a kashmiri, i see no alternative other than complete independence. there is no other way forward, will that take 20 years or 500. Doesn't matter

personally i think all three of these nations have to let go of kashmir, not because of some altruistic reason but because of CPEC. india and pakistan "need" to pass through kashmir to access it. china cannot afford jeopardizing their project because of indo-pak squabbles. for them business is king and the sooner things settle down, the easier.

for us kashmiris, we could practically live off of port fees for all the goods passing through our borders so yeah, i am hopeful

[hutzlibu]

"personally i think all three of these nations have to let go of kashmir, not because of some altruistic reason but because of CPEC. india and pakistan "need" to pass through kashmir to access it. china cannot afford jeopardizing their project because of indo-pak squabbles. for them business is king and the sooner things settle down, the easier."

I would be more afraid, that those big powers next to you don't want to let you go exactly for that reason. They want to use your land.

But yeah, I hope that they can settle for that. Leave you in the middle. A buffer between them.

[2Gkashmiri]

Good but currently the land is divided between 3 and there is fighting. Unless status quo changes, fighting will continue. Its not like if any of the three forces its way on others territory and the two will stay quiet. Either all can have it like now and keep fighting or all let go and no one fights.

Well a man can dream. Right?