Prof.A.N.Sadhu
The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing unprecedented turmoil since 1989; particularly in the Kashmir Valley. It touched its peak in 1990, when the entire community of Kashmiri Pandits was forced out of their homes and hearths. The nineties also witnessed mass massacres and inhuman brutalities causing large scale death and destruction of human life and property. The Archives are now flooded with the written accounts of this devastation in the form of numerous books, reports and anthalogies. The explanations are varied depending upon the individuals and groups of people belonging to different shades of opinion. The official version has become a rhetoric blaming the anti national elements and the neighbouring country.
Since the turn of the last century it was believed that normalcy is slowly returning to the disturbed territory. Four elections have been held since 1996 and with each subsequent election, the voter participation increased substantially, more particularly in the election held in 2014. Tall claims were made for return of normal times and electoral participation was cited to support these claims officially even though varied explanations were offered by different agencies.
Even though normalcy never returned to the state, more particularly, in Kashmir valley, the periods of lull were witnessed before the occurance of storms such as in 2008,2010 and now in 2016. These periods of lull resulted into the complacence of the Governments and its administration. Analysts believe that such an unprecedented violence would probably not have engulfed the state if the administration had remained alert and intelligence agencies had remained vigilant and the Government in power had taken the intelligence inputs seriously. The common man feels that he has been victimised by the administrative apathy. The present crises in Kashmir is alarming. Nobody would suggest the use of force on masses but merely making such a statement by the powers that be, does not absolve the Governments both in the state and in the centre of their responsibility to take pre-empetive steps to stall such happenings. There have to be some out of box and innovative steps and solutions which will have to be found if this continuing menace of turmoil has to be overcome. Before the present crisis erupted there has been a simmering and talk about some disturbance likely to occur by around the time when it actually happened. Did the Government not know and if it knew, what were the pre-emptive measures that the administration took to stall such an occurance.
The explanations offered to the present crisis are the following :-
(i) The Huriyat leaders and other separatist groups have been fuelling this unrest by issuing statements against the administration and impacting the youth to believe that the Central Government is aiming at changing the demographic profile of the valley as also indoctrinating the people with an ideology hereto alien to the people of the state, particularly living in the valley of Kashmir. Repeated anecdotes that Kashmir issue has not been addressed as per the UN resolution and Kashmiries are not involved in the bilateral talks with Pakistan, has also been a contributing factor. The talk of the return of Kashmiri Pandits to separate townships has also figured in these utterances with different interpretations from different quarters raising quite a few eyebrows.
(ii) Spurt in terrorist activities in the subcontinent particularly in Afganstan and Pakistan has also contributed to this turmoil through repeated border incursions resulting into retaliatory actions and killing of security forces as also the terrorists seeking to enter the state and cause disruptions.
(iii) Mishandling of security concerns and law and order situations have also contributed to the present unrest. The growing unemployment among the youth is also cited as a cause of unrest among the youth.
All the above explanations are repeated narratives with which the common man is quite familiar. The agitating questions in the minds of peace loving persons remain unanswered and unaddressed. Kashmir is geopolitically a very sensitive area. What all is witnessed in the valley for the last 26 years has regional, national as also the global dimensions. A very high quality of statesmanship is required to set the things right. Winning of hearts is fine and should be the aim of a benevolent government but what is the mechanism to achieve it. Giving packages does not win the hearts. The utilization of funds for developmental purposes has to be ensured. If the developmental wheels are punctured by the vested interests forbidding their reach to the common masses can the waiting hears be changed and won. The problems of the valley are deep rooted and need deft handling. Political opportunism is no solution to the problems of the state. Non-state actors are very active and carrying out a vicious campaign against the country. It is a fight against secularism and national ethos. It is a fight for spread of extremism and it is a war against the strength and stability of the country. It is not Kashmir fighting against the country, it is our neighbor fighting against us through Kashmir. Goodwill gestures are fine but if there is no appropriate response, repeating such qestures are taken as some kind of weakness which the uncompromising enemy is trying to exploit. In the global perspective, it should be viewed as a design sought to be operationalised for unsettling the national objectives guided by the constitution of the country. There are several players of the game and with single objective to thwart the efforts aimed at developing a secular country in a peaceful and non violent manner. India is emerging as an economic giant, it is also emerging as a powerful country to spread the Gandhian message of peace and non violence at the global level. The country’s international prestige has significantly gone up in the recent years and the world is appreciating India’s contributions for resolution of global problems such as terrorism, climate change and threat of use of neuclear war fare. Agencies inimical to changing world scenario and emergence of new world order based on principles of equality and fast growth, are desperately engaged to thwart these efforts. The country needs to reach out the world community and bring home to its leaders the looming danger of large scale devastation likely to take place across the globe if the world does not unite to fight the menace of terrorism and extremism.
History is replete with instances’ when in the absence of timely actions against the impending dangers, adversities struck in a bigger form halting the march of world society towards greater emancipation and achievements of higher goals of life. Our country is at a very crucial stage of its transformation and thoughtful handling of road blocks to this transition is required. The present turmoil is disturbing in the sense that it is a pointer towards an alarming reversal of the advances that had been recorded in the previous years. Kashmir is not only a law and order problem; the problem is deep rooted and needs to be understood carefully and objectively. What is required is an honest approach and not the subjective inter relations which neither serve the purpose of its inhabitants and nor of the country as a whole. Kashmir needs peace and development and let the vested interests not be allowed to stall it. The country needs to safeguard its national ethos enshrined in its constitution and let the enemies ( from within and outside ) not succeed to stall it. The present crisis demands cool and careful handling. Dubious statements by leaders of different shades compound the problems further. A collective effort is required to adopt the saner course to tide over the turbulence.
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