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| Mr Governor In Kashmir pluralism means exclusion of non-Muslims | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 21: Speaking at the "Sadbhavana Day Pledge" ceremony held at Raj Bhavan lawns in Srinagar on Friday, State Governor NN Vohra expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Kashmir and pointed out that "this has resulted in the loss of precious human lives and most adversely affected the functioning of educational institutions, hospitals, government offices, delivery of public utility services, trade, commerce and business activity and other sectors of economy." Fair enough. All right-thinking people would endorse what the Governor said.
However, his assertion that "Jammu and Kashmir has been known for high traditions of communal harmony, brotherhood and secular ethos" suggests that he is ignorant about the history of Kashmir, notwithstanding the fact that there are a few persons in New Delhi, including the ailing Atal Behari Vajpayee, who believes that he is an expert in Kashmir affairs. As a matter of fact, Governor Vohra sprang a big surprise by making such a statement at a time when the Islamic radicals confronted the miniscule minority of Sikhs with a choice between conversion to Islam and migration from Kashmir; at a time when communalists of communalists and separatist of separatists ordered through anonymous letters to join the anti-India crusade and quit Kashmir; and at a time when the threatened Sikhs and Members of Parliament were demanding protection against exclusion by the majority (read Kashmiri Muslims). It's no wonder that his statement on "communal harmony, brotherhood and secular ethos" has been interpreted by many as an affront to the self-respect of the Kashmiri Sikhs.
It is Jammu that is an oasis of secularism, pluralism, communal amity and brotherhood. It is Jammu where the people live in complete harmony, share each other's grief and joy and accommodate everyone who is persecuted in Kashmir or who is ousted from Kashmir at gunpoint. That's the reason Jammu has become a "city of refugees." Refugees from West Pakistan, refugees from Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir and Hindu refugees from Kashmir are all living a secure and dignified life in Jammu province, leave alone the fact that the Kashmiri-dominated successive governments in the state have not done anything substantial to regenerate the socio-economic and political life of these uprooted communities, all non-Muslim. Kashmiri Muslims are also in strength in Jammu, all leading a secure and dignified life. This is Jammu. This is called pluralism, brotherhood and peaceful co-existence.
As for Kashmir, the bottom line is secessionism, based on religious fanaticism. The ongoing regressive, intolerant and violent "Go India Go" movement is nothing but a manifestation of the Kashmiri communalism. The threat to the left over Sikhs in Kashmir to embrace and join Islam and participate in the anti-India movement is yet another glaring example of the kind of communalism and fanaticism that has engulfed the whole of the Valley. There are reasons to believe that if things continue in the form they are now in Kashmir, the Sikhs, whose number is, according to one estimate, nearly 60,000, would quit Kashmir and migrate to Jammu because Jammu is the only safer destination.
Everybody, except the so-called Kashmir experts who have given legitimacy to the Kashmiri Muslim identity politics, knows that the Kashmiri Hindus had started migrating from their original habitat in the time of iconoclast Sultan Sikander (1389-1413). Like today, during the time of Sikander, the Kashmiri Hindus had been confronted with three choice - embrace Islam, migrate and face persecution. The process started in the 14th century continued unabated till 1819. Between 1819 and 1947, the Kashmiri Hindus could lead a dignified life in Kashmir and there were no conversions. The process of migration, which was restarted after 1947, got completed in April-May 1990, when all but a couple of thousands Kashmiri migrated from the Valley to become refugees in their own motherland. The result was that Kashmir which was once hundred percent Hindu became almost 99 per cent Muslim. Once the Sikhs quit Kashmir, it would be hundred percent Muslim.
It is hoped that the learned Governor and Kashmir expert would see all these facts in the face and redesign their formulation on pluralism. Mr Governor, in Kashmir pluralism means exclusion and persecution of the non-Muslims. |
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