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| Kashmir: Post – Pelting Pondering and Pandering –I | | | Col. ® Anil Bhat | 11/1/2010 11:59:23 PM |
| Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s visit to the turbulent Kashmir Valley on 31 Ovtober, 2010, to take stock of the security situation soon after the government-appointed interlocutors tour of the state and a statement by Home Secretary GK Pillai are significant in view of the recent violence in Kashmir and Pakistan Army upping the ante on the Line of Control (LoC) obviously being timed for US President Barack Obama’s visit.
After touring Leh and Kargil, he landed at Singhpora sector headquarters of Border Security Force near Baramulla, to interact with security officials before chairing a high-level meeting focussed on infiltration bids mounted by Pak army supported terrorists from across the LoC and the law and order situation.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his Cabinet colleagues were conspicuous by their absence during Mr. Chidambaram's visit to Baramulla, where he was received by senior Congress leader and Education Minister Peerzada Sayeed. Later Mr Abdullah met Mr Chidambaram,.
While by and large the Valley has been relatively peaceful, curfew was re-imposed early on 30 October in three towns of north Kashmir, fearing unrest, particularly following a recent terrorist attack reportedly claimed by Jaish e Mohammad, at Malroo, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Mr Chidambaram is reported to have conveyed that the State government should further its efforts to restore complete normalcy in the Valley.
Home Secretary GK Pillai is reported to have said that while there was no specific terror threat related to Obama's visit but militants may try to create disturbance during his India tour to get publicity, the way they did in 2000 when former US President Bill Clinton visited India. "That's the type of fear that we have that innocent civilians will be killed and then the blame would be put like the last time on the Indian Army. All indications are that the propaganda machinery would be out to do the same. Therefore, we are being careful," he was quoted.
It may be recalled that Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists massacred of 36 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora, South Kashmir, on the night of March 19-20, 2000, when Clinton was on his first state visit to India.
The third phase in Kashmir Valley (first being three months of shouting and stoning and second, the all-party delegation’s visit followed by an eight-point package), marked by new rabbits from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Karakul cap, the three interlocutors’ visit and opening statements, S.A.S. Geelani (among the prime accused in the Parliament House attack case, who escaped punishment due to poor prosecution) and history-starved Arundhati Roy’s rantings and the Centre’s reactions, so far only highlights some confounding contradictions and confusion.
A few days after the the three interlocutors returned from the Valley, their head, Dilip Padgaonkar made an interesting revelation about their meeting terrorists in jail to a television channel. Padgaonkar said, “First time we met the guys from terrorist organisations, they said to us would you mind coming to us once again, we need to talk to you. So we went second time and the second time at the end of about an hour-and-a-half, something quite surprising took place. One of those guys who acted as spokesperson for one of these organistaions said to us that they would like to submit to us also - a peace plan….So we said we've come to listen to you, we are quite prepared - as and when you prepare your point of view, let us know and we'll examine that as well,” He added that the people of Kashmir and even the terrorists want their voices to be heard and believed they had a road-map ahead of them to solve the crisis and felt this was a indeed a very significant step forward.
While there is no denying the need to address the angst, anger and aspirations of Kashmiris with sensitivity, there are some aspects which yet again need clarification/elaboration.
India’s stand of Jammu and Kashmir being its ‘atoot ang’, i.e. integral part and New Delhi’s statements and actions, which have often veered away from, or contradicted that stand. While many writers and analysts have amply dwelt upon drawbacks and flaws in the Centre’s policy on J&K in the past six plus decades, which seriously impact on national security, recent events and statements do not inspire any confidence about an improvement in the situation so far.
Abdullah’s lengthy and controversial speech in the legislative assembly on 6 October, interpreting that Kashmir’s acceded to, but did not merge with India, that it was “an outstanding issue” which needs to be resolved and stressing that it cannot be addressed through development, employment or good governance only, caused an uproar after members of BJP and JKNPP (JK National Panthers Party) MLAs tried to storm into the well of the House and earned him brownie points from the separatists.
Speaking to this writer, JKNPP chief Professor Bhim Singh made some interesting observations: “Omar Abdulla’s terming the accession by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947 as a conditional agreement violates the oath of the allegiance for the Constitution of India that the Chief Minister had taken…. The Instrument of Accession was signed by the only competent authority of the time, Maharaja Hari Singh, whose action was backed by all sections of society and Omar Abdullah’s grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the tallest leader of Kashmiri Muslims those days….Omar Abdullah claiming that J&K’s accession to India was conditional, that there was no merger with the Union of India and his comparison with Hyderabad and Junagarh cannot be taken lightly because the young Chief Minister seems to be having a hidden agenda, not different from that of the anti-India elements….Omar Abdullah has deliberately ignored that Parliament of India in its unanimous resolution in 1994 had categorically defined the issue - the liberation of entire POK including Gilgit-Baltistan from the illegal occupation of Pakistan….Chief Minister of J&K failed to hide his hidden agenda conceived during his visit to Pakistan in 2007. One part of his speech referred to his intention to revive the Anglo-American Dixon Plan”. Mr. Bhim Singh further elaborated: “Owen Dixon was sent as a special UN observer to J&K in 1950, after Pakistan refused to withdraw from occupied areas of J&K as per UNCIP direction in its resolution dated 13th August, 1948. To bail out Pakistan, he recommended creation of ‘Greater Kashmir’-dividing the State on communal lines which the people had opposed in 1947. This proposal was, for a change, rejected by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Because of supporting this plan, Sheikh Abdullah earned Pandit Nehru’s wrath, leading to his dismissed and arrest.”
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