Neha
JAMMU, Aug 28: Things in Kishtwar town and adjoining areas, which witnessed engineered violence on August 9 on an unprecedented scale, are now almost normal. And much to the charging of Pakistan-abetted, indoctrinated and supported communal elements and terrorists. They must be feeling quite upset because the Hindus and the Muslims of this beautiful and salubrious area did not allow them to succeed in creating bad blood in the two communities. The believers in the concept of Greater Kashmir consisting of Kashmir valley and Muslim-majority areas of Jammu province and trans-Himalayan Ladakh must also be bemoaning their defeat, as the people of Kishtwar saw through their game plan and took no time in exhibiting unity against them. Certain NC leaders and black sheep in the local civil and police administration allegedly tried to took advantage of the situation but with no result, as both the communities had decided in their own way not to let the situation go out of hand after August 9.
What led to the defeat of the devious game plan of separatists and extremists? There were many reasons. One, the people of Kishtwar, including the Hindus and the Muslims, or for that matter the erstwhile Doda district, have never got their due share in the democratic and economic processes. The successive Kashmiri-dominated Governments in the state have hardly considered the people of these areas part and parcel of the system. In fact, they always considered the majority community as their vote bank and consistently tried to pit one section against the other. The Kashmiri leadership and its supporters consistently exploited the religious sensitivities of the people belonging to one particular community but discriminated against it like it discriminated against the minority community. In other words, their common enemy was, and continues to be, the diased State Government.
Two, it is clear that the aspirations, grievances and needs of both the communities are the same and their target is also the same: The discriminatory State Government. Since their problems and those responsible for their neglect and the problems they face were, and are, the same, they, barring a few vested interests, in their heart of hearts always disliked the ruling elite. The fact of the matter is that both the communities hold the Kashmiri leadership and its agents in Jammu, including those who represent the in the Assembly, responsible for the neglect and marginalization. It is this feeling of neglect that has shaped the attitude of the two communities towards the powers-that-be. It's no wonder that both the communities live together in peace and struggle like one man, notwithstanding some aberrations here and there.
Take, for example, the struggle for the creation of Kishtwar district out of Doda district. Both the communities fought and suffered together and got what they wanted in 2007. Similarly, the youths of the areas have always fought together against the discriminatory job policy of the State Government. One thing is clear: The people of Kishtwar and other areas where the Muslims constitute majority cannot be fooled by the powers-that be in the state. The prevailing peace there needs to be viewed in this context. |
