RAVINDER JALALI
Former Union Minster and a senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha visited Srinagar as a member of a peace pigeon team to understand, feel and share the pain of the so called Kashmiri innocent people. The question is now who suffered pain and agony in valley and who inflicted wounds on them. Recently also Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wanted the centre to apply balm on the wounds of the Kashmiri. But nobody discloses the fact that who gave them wounds. Nobody dares to name and shame them for the reasons best known to them. They are knocking at the doors of Centre when there is an elected government in the state who are the real and right people to apply balm on their wounds. Why the govt. and so-called peace initiative people do not name and shame them and educate the local masses to understand that it is their own people (separatists) who are inflicting wounds on them and are working on behalf of the their masters across the border.
Now the question is that the problem is confined to Valley which is just 33% of the area and just less than half of population of state but the entire state which comprises of Jammu and Ladakh regions and comprises of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians are held as hostages for no fault of theirs. Perhaps their fault is just they are nationalists and believe in the ideology of secularism, pluralism and democracy unlike the separatists and their supporters who believe contrary to it. It seems that the Government is giving more weightage to anti-Indians and patriots and nationalists are ignored.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah once again appealed to the centre to hold talks with the Pakistan (herein after calling Papistan) and include Kashmiris to find out a solution to the Kashmir problem. He is not the only leader who has expressed the similar point of view on the Kashmir Issue. His statement that India and Papistan should sit together along with the people of Kashmir and work out an acceptable solution to the Kashmir issue. According to him and as well as so many politicians, Kashmir is a political issue and only politically it can be resolved, but what is that resolution no body gives it. They only make camouflage statements. The fact of the matter is that sincerely no body is interested in its solution. Had they been sincere and serious, the solution would have been found.
The tragic part is that centre is not well aware of the affairs of J&K and its demography. They still feel and accept that the Kashmir is J&K. The important fact is that the most of our MPs in Lok Sabha may not be aware of the geography, history and culture of Kashmir. First let me put it straight for them that Kashmir is not the entire J&K State but is a small part of J&K and does not represent the aspiration of the entire J&K state. The majority of the Indians take Kashmir for J&K as the entire State. The same perception is about the political class of India. They visit Kashmir during summers as members of some parliamentary committees and stay for a few days and return Delhi with a lot of free gifts and presents.
The unfortunate part is that there is no leadership in Jammu who can effectively confront these Kashmir centric leaders who launches misinformation campaign. There is no body to tell the people that the unrest is in a part of J&K i.e. Kashmir Valley and not the entire J&K State and the problem is basically communal based on the two nation theory of 1947 which has been rejected by India. Another significant point is that all valley people are not involved in it. There are Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs, Shias and other silent Muslim majority who believe in Indian ideology, who are not part of this vicious agenda. It is only separatists who at behest of Pakistan are fomenting trouble in the valley. Maharaja Hari Singh, the then Ruler of Jammu & Kashmir State, in the exercise of his Sovereignty in and over the said State, executed the Instrument of Accession and the same was accepted by Governor General of India. Mountbatten on 27th Oct. 1947.
Perhaps India will be the only country in the world where the people who acts against the sovereignty and integrity of the country are being financed by the same Govt. The close nexus between the so called mainstream politicians and their parties with separatists is quite clear because the separatist are always defended by these leaders.
Another important dimension is that it has never been a political problem as propagated by so many parties who are Kashmir based. Had it been a political then all the people irrespective of their faith should have been part of it which is not. It is only a section of Muslim people in valley who are playing in the hands of Papistan and are their paid agents. Had it been so sacred, then their families members would have joined the struggle but they are in other part of country of outside the country. The stone pelter hired by the separatists are from lower strata of society. If it would have been a political problem then the KPs would not have been hounded out of their hearths and homes. It is purely a religious problem based on two nation theory, which resulted into partition and creation of Papistan. The religion is the only bondage between Kahmiri Muslim separatists and Papistan.
The different people have different solutions to the so called Kashmir problem. The NC gave the formula of going to pre-1953 position. The PDP talks of Self -Rule. The separatists talk of plebiscite. The hardliner Geelani talks of merger with Papistan. He openly defies Govt. and challenges the sovereignty and integrity of India. Hurriyat moderate led by Maulvi Omar Farooq wants right of self determination. Congress wants a political solution without giving the details of such a solution. These are all vague statements and are only misleading. Those who talk of political resolution have a myopic view of Kashmir problem. If you address it as a Kashmir problem, be specific to the Kashmir region only. Don’t thrust it on entire J&K State. The approach as adopted by the centre is in ignorance and is misguided by the Kashmir centric politicians as evidenced by the visit of all party delegation to valley only and then a flash visit to Jammu mere as an eye wash and to have a face saving because they had to suffer humiliation in valley at the hands of Separatists. These separatists did not lose any time in meeting the Pakistani leaders when these separatists knock at their doors but here our Indian leaders do visit their homes but do not talk to them rather don’t open their doors for them. These leaders are shame proof and it does not affect them; rather they will like to make further visits to valley as a part of excursion at Govt. exchequer.
The fact is that Kashmir acceded legally and constitutionally to the Domain of India. Both the Maharaja and the people of Jammu & Kashmir requested the Government of India to accept their accession which has been accepted. Legality of the document was that once the king, the ruler decides the accession it is final and irrevocable and need not consult the wishes of the people of the kingdom.
(The writer is a social activist and can be contacted at @dpkashmir@gmail.com)