Ravinder Jalali
Recently our Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that it is Agenda of Alliance (AoA), will provide solution to Kashmir’s woes and there is no other solution. She was right when she said that the PDP and BJP is truly a representative Govt. of J and K but the fact is contrary to it. The concern of Chief Minister was genuine and right when she said “How long we will fight? How long Kashmiris be killed? How long will our kids bear the brunt of this trouble?” She was speaking at a function in Srinagar to release J and K Cultural Academy’s special edition of Journal Sheeraza on the life, vision and contribution of former Chief Minister on his first death anniversary.
There is no doubt about the AoA but one thing peculiar seems to be is that she is concerned with Kashmir more as compared to other regions. No doubt her base and electorate is from Valley but she is representing the entire State and by her speeches, it seems that as if the AoA is only for Kashmir region. The purpose of the alliance was to form a government that will be empowered to catalyse reconciliation and confidence building within J and K thereby ensuring peace in the State. This will, in turn, create an enabling environment for all round economic development of the State and prosperity of the people. It was to provide a stable and a representative government in J and K which respects the mandate given by the people, strengthens the institutions and widens the ambit of democracy through inclusive politics. It was to provide smart governance and bring about self-sustaining and balanced development across all three regions of the State. It was to create conditions to facilitate resolution of all issues of J and K, Protecting and fostering ethnic and religious diversity by ensuring the return of Kashmiri Pandits with dignity based on their rights as state subjects.
But by going through her speeches, she seems to take up only those issues, which are Kashmir centric and pro separatists. In AoA she focuses on AFSPA, retrieving land from security forces, returning of power projects to State and dialog with separatists and forgets the rest. She did not talk of KPs, WPRs, delimitation of Assembly constitutes. She is not addressing the issues concerned to Jammu people. Instead of making a reference on the important issue of Rohingya Muslims, she is just helping in their illegal settlement in Jammu which is ulterior in nature.
She has made a U turn on the settlement of KPs in Valley under the pressure of separatists. She could not establish Sainik Colony in Srinagar for the State subjects because of the backlash from separatists and so called mainstream politicians who are no less than separatists. Only difference is that they can be termed as soft separatists depending upon the timing which suits to them. Even at times they behave more than a radical and fanatic. This we have seen during the recent Assembly session where NC legislature labled terrorist as a martyr and during beef row , it was NC who openly and brazenly advocated the slaughter of cows and wanted Govt. to revoke the law that declares the slaughterer of cow a punishable offence.
One more interesting feature is the setting up of Special Investigation Teams. These will be set up district wise to probe the killing of militants and then paying ex-gratia for the kin or next of kin. She and her Govt. seem to take all those issues which result in benefitting the riot and trouble makers. This is to incentivise those who attack the civilians, army and police personnel with stones which ultimately resulted in the causality of stone pelters. These stone pelters were not ordinary boys who ignorantly went for an attack on security camps. They are doing deliberately under a conspiracy and patronised by political parties. The act of rewarding these stone pelters with compensation up to Rs 5 lakh and providing them with Govt. jobs is only to revise and renew the stone pelting and violence. It can be presumed that the unrest is provoked and encouraged. Till date not a single party across Valley has criticised the stone pelters and held them and their parents responsible but in turn every body is questioning the Govt. It speaks of the double standards of the Govt. These stone pelters have waged a war against the nation and it will be ridiculous to reward them with compensation and Govt. jobs.
The Govt. has never bothered to appoint any SIT or any commission to probe into the killings of KPs in Valley and their exodus in 1990s. It seems that the Govt. listens and takes care of those anti-nationals who raise a banner of revolt against the nation and ignore those who stand by the nation and are nationalists. It is an insult and humiliation to a nationalist and a patriot and even it becomes cruel when money and jobs are doled out to rioters and terrorists. The hard earned money belongs to Indian tax payer and can not be used for the welfare of the killers of Indian Army. The recent videos of security forces uploaded on social media can not be brushed aside and should be an eye opener for the authorities because the present jawan is educated and can not be taken for a ride. He is all witness to the injustice being meted out to him by utilising the money of Indian nationals for the betterment of those against whom they are fighting and sacrificing their lives. The same security persons are guarding the separatists who want to see Kashmir as a graveyard of the same security forces. It is absurd and shameful for any nation loving person. These politicians, if they have any consciousness left in them, should give up their security and then fight for the welfare of militants and
separatists.
Recently three labourers of GREF were killed by militants in Akhnoor area of Jammu but went unnoticed except condemnation where as the Kathua incident was highlighted and discussed in Assembly. Opposition walked out of House in protest against the Kathua incident. The question is why Govt. and opposition were silent on Akhnoor issue, simply because these three GREF labourers were outsiders and was not a vote bank. Arms and ammunition have been snatched from police in Valley which are still untraced. Firstly I don’t think they were snatched, it seems they were offered to them by police persons with out any resistance otherwise how arms could be snatched with out afflicting any injury or any harm to a person whose rifle or any other arm got snatched. No body is making any effort to get back those arms and arrest those who have snatched.
The statement of Mehbooba is significant, when she says that stone pelters are their children and we have to ensure their rehabilitation. It is good that they are our children but nobody sends their children to attack security picket or police patrol party with stones and arms. It will be better for Mehbooba and the Govt. to see that there are no wound rather than to apply healing touch to those wounds and if such wounds are rewarded to such an extent of ex-gratis relief of Rs. 5 lakh, a Govt. job and to provide education for the kins in prestigious school like Doon School as said by Mehbooba quoting Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, then I am afraid that the unrest and violence will continue and will not abate because there will be no other job or task as lucrative as throwing stones and petrol bombs on the police pickets and security installations.
