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| Geelani represents regression and barbarism, isolate him to save Kashmir | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sep 1: Pro-Pakistan Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who, along with his anti-social and anti-India supporters, represents regression and barbarism, has told India that there is but one way in which he can agree to talk to New Delhi and that is by accepting his five pre-conditions. These pre-conditions include "demilitarization to be monitored by some credible agency"; categorical public commitment by Prime Manmohan Singh that no one will be "killed and arrested in Kashmir henceforth"; "unconditional release of youths and political prisoners before Eid and withdrawal of cases against them"; "revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA)" and "punishment to those responsible for killings of people during recent protests." He asked New Delhi to accept these pre-conditions on Tuesday while addressing media persons at his palatial and heavily guarded house, located in the posh Hyderpora locality in Srinagar. These pre-conditions are no different from the ones being suggested by other Kashmir-based leaders, separatist and the so-called mainstream leaders included.
Besides, Geelani also asked New Delhi to "consider Jammu and Kashmir issue as an international dispute." "If implemented on ground in both letter and spirit, these measures would facilitate…creation of conducive atmosphere enabling Jammu and Kashmir leadership to meet, consult and consolidate public opinion for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the democratic principle of right to self-determination," he, in addition, told reporters. He coupled his utterly outrageous pre-conditions with a warning. His warning: "If Government fails to fulfill these minimum necessary conditions required for peaceful resolution immediately, the programme of ongoing protests would be intensified." What Geelani has laid down are not pre-conditions. He has asked India to quit Kashmir and leave it to his care, as also to the care of Pakistan, which is ever ready to grab Jammu and Kashmir with a view to establishing its full control over the state waters.
Geelani did not have the audacity to say that it was he and his supporters, plus the likes of the Mirwaiz who are squarely responsible for the bloodshed in Kashmir. Nor did he say that it was he and the likes of the Mirwaiz who have been instigating the young and old Kashmiri Muslims, including women, to attack the police and paramilitary forces so that they react and open fire leading to the killing of hooligans and so that they are able to play politics over their dead bodies. The likes of Geelani are responsible for what has been happening in Kashmir, particularly since June 20. They just can't blame the security forces.
No government worth its name would ever accept any of his pre-conditions. Acceptance of these conditions would automatically mean three things: (1) humiliating and disgraceful defeat of the Indian nation that has suffered immense losses during all these 63 years of the state's accession to India both in terms of invaluable lives of our soldiers and nationalists and money, (2) a splendid victory of those representing regression and barbarism in Kashmir and (3) acceptance of these pre-conditions by New Delhi would mean a shot in the arms of the dreaded Maoists/Naxalites and similar other subversives who have been quite active in various parts of the country for quite sometime now to break India into smithereens. The Maoists/Naxalites and similar other elements active in the North East and their supporters like Swami Agnivesh, Dr Mohini Giri, former Navy chief Admiral Ram Doss, Praful Bidwai, Kuldip Nayar, Rajinder Sachhar, Tapan Bose, Arundhati Roy, Barkha Dutt, Medha Patekar, A G Noorani, Sidhharath Varadhrajan, Vidya Subramanium, Ram Punyani, Badri Raina, to mention only a few, would surely up their ante and put forth similar pre-conditions. In fact, the likes of Agnivesh have already upped their ante and openly sided with the dread Maoists and regressive and barbarous elements in Kashmir.
Geelani talks of right to self-determination. Does he know that this is just not possible? Yes, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did talk about right to self-determination. Yes, the United Nations also talked of right to self-determination/plebiscite. But there are conditions Pakistan, and not India, has to fulfill. Pakistan has to vacate the aggression, take back from China the areas in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Jammu and Kashmir it ceded to China, liberate the Northern Territories (Gilgit-Baltistan it has illegally integrated into it and allow the Indian Army to go to the Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir in order to maintain law and order there.
It needs to be underlined that Nehru and the UN resolutions were very clear when they talked of right to self-determination or plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. None of them ever stated that plebiscite would be organized region-wise or district-wise. The plebiscite has to be organized in the state as it existed on August 15, 1947, when British India was partitioned on communal basis. If Geelani really wants the Government of India to allow plebiscite exercise in the state, he has to ask Pakistan to fulfill all the conditions. But he will not do that. He would only beat about the bush, play with the religious sentiments of his co-religionists in Kashmir, keep the pot boiling and further his personal agenda.
Our problem is not Geelani. Nor is our problem the Mirwaiz, Malik, Shabbir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, the Muftis and the Abdullahs. Our problem is the custodians of the Indian State, who are allowing the Geelanis and others of their ilk to survive and thrive. Out problem is the custodians of the Indian State. who are not prepared to recognize the reality that the bottom-line of every Kashmiri leader is secessionism based on the religious fanaticism. Unless they stop promoting sub-nationalism in Kashmir, unless they are prepared to de-recognize the politics of Kashmiri Muslim identity and unless they are prepared to recognize this reality they would not reach anywhere.
The policy-planners in New Delhi have already caused enough of damage. It is time they isolated Geelani and others of his ilk. This is the only course left to save Kashmir for India. No to do so or to continue to treat the Geelanis with kid gloves would simply mean allowing them to regroup themselves and prepare themselves for a final assault. Now that Geelani himself has sought time to "enable Jammu and Kashmir leadership to meet, consult and consolidate public opinion for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the democratic principle of right to self-determination" is a proof that that the public opinion in Kashmir is yet to be consolidated or that he himself is doubtful about the people's response to what he has been advocating since decades.
If the policy-planners still refuse not to take advantage of what Geelani himself has said about the public opinion in Kashmir, then it can be said without any hesitation that there is something fundamentally wrong with them. |
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