Shiban Khaibri
The unprecedented economic growth, the long strides in promoting free of cost quality education , housing, infrastructure, free health care coupled with incessant increase in per capita income and consumption, better protracted representation in Government jobs in comparison with other states in the country, Kashmir should have been not reduced to what we have been seeing it with a heavy heart. For brevity, let the two other important parts of the state, Jammu and Ladakh be not discussed to get the hang of what ails Kashmir and what is the actual and unmasked problem of the Valley.
At the outset, on any of the parameters, economic, social, political, developmental, educational, etc, the other part of Kashmir known as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) stands at least a century behind as it is mired in the vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, hopelessly poor infrastructure, illiteracy, squalor, etc and no comparison by any logic could be made with the unprecedented development made by this part of the fence ever since we acceded to India in Oct 1947.So far as political freedom and liberty is concerned, PoK is reduced to a colony of Punjabi Muslims dominated Pakistan. So much so, that in matter of language and literature, Urdu is thrust on them and Kashmiri language – speaking and writing let alone promoting, is tabooed there.Even in religious freedom, PoK is no comparison to freedom enjoyed in the valley of Kashmir under Indian democracy. Then, what is it that more and more Kashmiri Muslims unwittingly walk into the trap laid by Pakistan, of terrorism and mayhem, of hate and religious extremism – is seen overtly by those who take to the gun and simultaneously ensure hard core religious fanaticism and Wahabicult taking deeper roots and covertly by those who lend moral, religious and cultural support, even a few administrative to the aimless, visionless and achievable(less) Aazadi movement? How is it that Pakistani flags, ISIS flags and placards with pure religious narrative are displayed in the funeral processions of slain terrorists and otherwise during sessions of raining stones on the security forces? In run up to the “acceleration ” of this movement, the complete overhauling of any remotest signs of moderate (ism) whether by practicing the faith, whether by observing dress codes, whether by lending any remote credibility to tolerance to other faiths or whether by watching movies and participate in sports and gymnastics etc by women etc as these all are termed un- Islamic.
Referring, again, to a well educated lady who is the “leader” of an extremist outfit, she bases her “movement” for Islam and with the support of belief in only Islam where no space whatsoever is for any other faith notwithstanding the fact that Kashmir has been the fountainhead of the highest order of spiritual cum philosophical non dualistic Shaivism or “One undivided without a second” purest religious thought which was not only pan- Indian but spread across the globe in many countries which has its origin dating back to nearly 1800 years and more.Before that, Kashmir has been an abode of embellishing of various branches of Vedic Sanatan Dharam where saints, hermits and mystics of highest order used to learn, practice and attain the bliss and unspecified contentment. The Pro- Pakistan secessionist lady has close liaison with the Internationally declared terrorist Hafiz Saeed .
Pakistan knows that it can have its sway of diabolical expansionist designs influence a larger section of the Kashmiris only on the basis of exploiting religion. Ali Shah Geelani, the Pro Pakistan secessionist Kashmiri leader terms the current Pakistan sponsored movement against India as “Aazadi Baraye Islam” or “Freedom for the sake of Islam”. Employment and economic packages are now pooh – poohed, although the entire world is concerned with and interested in the economic betterment of the people. So much has religion percolated into the psyche of the people for ceding Kashmir from India that now even the most educated and the ones from affluent background are reportedly joining the terror outfits to fight what is fed into them a “Jehad” against India.
Watch any funeral procession of a neutralized terrorist; no political slogans are raised but only religious slogans for the religion and by thousands justifying the same for getting “freedom” from India again for the sake of religion. For any movement to be qualified as political, participation of people from all faiths and beliefs is central and critical to the movement. The present situation of entirely religious nature got a fillip only after the ethnic minority, the original inhabitants of Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits were hounded out and most of their signs, traces, dwellings and centers of faiths were razed to ground. Hundreds of places, villages, mohallas and streets were rechristened with non conventional and historic names under a grand design influenced by religious considerations.
The society is getting increasingly radicalized day by day and that alone is a concomitant of the so called “struggle” not getting fizzled out. The CM even recently had to exhorta gathering of Ulemmas of Waqaf Board that religious leaders should stop preaching Jihad in mosques as there was no short cut to paradise. She further said, “Picking gun won’t take anyone to paradise”. Mosques and other religious places are routinely (mis)used as centers of indoctrination, mobilizing mobs to collect around sites where operations are planned to conduct to flush out terrorists, to prevent the forces to do their duties and to rain stones on them.
Of late, even school and college going girls are organized in throwing stones on the security forces. Most of those who take part in such “operations” at the behest of Pakistani saboteurs and Wahabi clergy do it as a “demonstration effect” and to insulate themselves from the wrath of the Pakistani agents. The slogans raised are no political but religious. Recent beheading of a 25 year old young man on the pattern of the IS must sound alarm bells of impending events.
A word about an incident of no mean significance otherwise the entire topic is denied its resplendence of whatever measure. That pertains to not openly admitting a stark fact but slightly making a departure from a worn out rhetoric by no less than the State’s former Finance Minister Dr. Haseeb Drabu by saying Kashmir is not a “political problem”, Haseeb Drabu was sacked as the State Finance Minister. This writer has a lot of regard for Dr. Drabu for his inventive and resourceful genius. I attended two prestigious SLBC meetings where I found him having on the tip of his tongue, all relevant ratios, percentages, figures, and comparative data besides possessing in-depth knowledge of Economics, banking and commerce.
To have a Finance Minister of Drabu’s caliber in our State was really in the fitness of things where innovative, bold and much needed decisions taking abilities are required. Dr. Drabu cannot be treated a “real” political martyr since he spoke less than half the truth about Kashmir. Kashmir is neither a social problem, nor a political problem, never an economic problem but only and only a religious problem. I wish Dr. Drabu to have gone a bit far in his outspokenness and getting sacked on that count would have meant a real political martyrdom. Still, intellectuals like him often get the drubbings for nothing. Here George Eliot, the famous English Novelist is worth quoting, “You should read history and look at ostracism, persecution, martyrdom, and that kind of thing, they always happen to the best man.”
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