Mansoor Anwar
Fast forward to July 2016. Kashmir has become a ghost place. One has to act dead to stay alive. If you see any movement anywhere, it will only be that of security personnel. All Kashmiris are grounded in their homes. All institutions, offices and markets are closed. Even small shops in villages are shut. All communication lines are cut. No phone calls in most parts, hardly any internet connectivity anywhere. To put it simply, it is like dark ages.
It is not possible to imagine something like this could happen in the 21st century. But it has happened and it is not going to go away on its own. So is anyone watching and taking note?
Response from the Narendra Modi government has been on predicted lines. All they can see is “the invisible Pakistani hand.” They conveniently forget Kashmiris and what they want. They forget there is a broader political issue. They count on their ability to hold on to Kashmir the territory but don’t care about Kashmiris.
The underlying political issue has been there from 1947 – right from the time erstwhile Maharaja’s hands were twisted by India to sign on the dotted lines in the face of idiotic tribal raid on Kashmir sponsored by Pakistan. Pandit Nehru’s offer of plebiscite and subsequent backtracking provided permanent fuel for an ongoing duel between India and Pakistan.
Both countries kept using the Kashmir issue to serve their different interests. There has been hardly any genuine attempt to resolve it, barring a potential opportunity during A B Vajpayee’s and Pervez Musharraf’s terms. Both countries keep blaming each other without looking into their own backyard and when it comes to Kashmir, without taking into account the Kashmiri people.
The advent of militancy as a key weapon of separatist politics in the late 1980s was a direct outcome of political stalemate and mismanagement by Delhi. What happened in last 26 years is part of history but lack of learning any lessons from the same is causing a grave situation, as we can see now. If anything, there have always been concerted efforts to distract from the core political issue. Focus has been on containment and not on resolution.
During Modi government’s ongoing tenure, the situation has worsened. One expected from Modi something similar to Vajpayee’s ‘healing touch’ policy. Unfortunately, their approach has been inconsistent and arrogant and heavily influenced by their Hindutva agenda. They persisted with the notorious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act when it was time for change.
They continued to discriminate against the Kashmiris. Their contrasting response to the IIT incident and Handwara security killings earlier this year clearly established how little they care about Kashmiris and how they are driven by pseudo nationalism.
In one case, they went into overdrive to look after the errant non-Kashmiri students who wanted to create a scene in a security sensitive area and dubbed Kashmir police as anti-national for confronting the students. In the other incident, they did not even murmur when innocent Kashmiris were killed by security forces in Handwara.
If Sangh Parivar was to succeed in its Hindutva mission to convert India into a Hindu nation, there will be no place for Kashmir and Kashmiris. Kashmiri Muslims are secular by DNA.
Overwhelming majority of them still want Kashmiri pandits to return and have been at complete peace with Sikhs and pandits who stayed back. Hatred
towards Kashmiri pandits in a section of society is more in response to hatred perpetuated by some communal organisations, media channels and select Kashmiri pandit groups. For those who do not want to accept secular credentials of Kashmiri Muslims, the answer will still be the same. If secular Muslims can’t fit into a Hindu nation, how can non-secular Muslims fit in?
Remote control
The coalition government in the state headed by Mehbooba Mufti and remote controlled by the Centre has miserably failed in restoring people’s faith in peace process and governance. It is no secret that late Mufti Sayeed entered into this “North pole-South pole” alliance for two primary purposes, first being resolution of vexed political issue and to restart dialogue with all parties. Unfortunately, no progress has been made on this front due to inherent prejudice.
In Srinagar, Modi said he does not need anybody’s advice on Kashmir. His government’s policy towards Pakistan has been most inconsistent like his unscheduled visit to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Sayeed’s second purpose of development never took off. This makes one wonder why Mehbooba is still fronting this coalition and unwittingly providing a shield to the Modi regime for its misdeeds in Kashmir.
Is there a way out? One can’t be sure but if there is one – it will need a 180 degree turn in New Delhi’s approach to this problem. Rhetoric has to go. It is not about territory which you could claim by raising the tricolour at various points. It is about Kashmiri people. First, their dignity has to be restored. They matter. Listen to them. Look back and see what was the original understanding of accession. Restore the autonomy, at least to pre-1953 level.
If New Delhi still persists with its current approach, it may well be able to hang on to Kashmir the territory but it will never be able to establish peace in Kashmir. There is a huge trust deficit and New Delhi will do well to reach out to Kashmiris to understand where they are coming from, why they feel so hurt, what they really want and to finally explore and reach a win-win dignified solution.