Ms Arundhati Roy has opined that Kashmir was never a part of India and so should be allowed independence. In that case Texas was a part of Mexico, China was a part of Mongolia, Guantanamo and Guam were never part of the US, there has never been a state or country called Palestine, Kuwait was a part of Iraq, Gibraltar and the Falklands were never a part of Great Britain, Asir region was a part of Yemen, the list goes on. Ms Roy may have won a literary award but that does not make her an expert on politics or human rights. She is partly right in saying that the state is an enemy of the people but destroying it by supporting Naxals is hardly going to improve the living conditions of poor people for whom her heart bleeds. Perhaps she should pay a visit to Cambodia and learn about the Khmer Rouge and Brother no. 1 before talking. Kashmir can never be independent, not because of what India wants, but because Pakistan will never give up the territory it is occupying. Indeed if Indian troops were to move out Paki troops will move straight in and annexe the whole valley. India will then be in even greater danger than it is now because Pakis will be that much closer to the heart of the country. It is sad that she has to resort to such treacherous rubbish to get into the limelight once more. She claims that as a writer she has freedom of speech. So she has but does not and never will have the right to be stupid. She should realise that her stupidity puts our right to life in jeopardy. The freeloading press should stop reporting the rubbish she spouts. That way she can have her freedom to speak rubbish without endangering the rest of us.