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| Has normalcy gained firm roots in the Valley? | | | Jasbir Sarai | 6/26/2011 8:27:19 PM |
| The environment in the National Capital and more so in Jammu and Kashmir is abuzz with talk of the situation in Kashmir having attained the elusive status of ‘Normalcy” at long last. The obvious signs for this rapturous happening are seen in the very strong tourist influx, a distinct drop in incidents of violence/disruption and successful conclusion of the Panchayat elections. If this were a fact, there would have been every reason to celebrate and feel satisfied at having defeated a sinister plan to break away this land mass from the Indian Union, a diabolic plot which crushed with tremendous sacrifices and great loss of life of innocent people of Kashmir and the security forces.
However, one is forced to contemplate the overall scenario and feel that the joy is somewhat misplaced and that, in our euphoria, we are missing the woods for the trees. Has normalcy actually gained firm roots in the valley and in the other region that constitutes J&K? The answer can be in the affirmative only if there is irrefutable evidence of the fact that the ideology used to create the problem in the first case has been totally uprooted. Unfortunately, a closer look at the scenario gives a thumbs-down to this vital parameter. The separatist ideology is still going strong, the methods may have been modified but the intent remains the same. Similarly, those foreign forces who had inimical designs on this land mass have, by no means, abandoned their ambitions. Their internal problems have forced them to restructure their strategy but they continue to be undeterred in pursuance of their overall objective.
The separatist onslaught propagated by Pakistan in the Kashmir valley is being played out as much on the political, administrative and economic machinery of the state as it is on the minds and psyche of the Kashmiri people dwelling both within the valley and beyond. In fact, the poisoning of the minds of the Kashmiris began much earlier than the instigation of acts of terror in the valley. For Pakistan, to openly indulge in interference in the affairs of another nation, some nature of legitimacy had to be created. The first step in this direction was taken by reducing Kashmiri’s and the Pakistanis to a common denominator by playing the religious card. In other words the Kashmiri identity was equated with the Muslim identity.
Since Kashmir was essentially a cultural region with strong secular credentials, the first step was to discredit the cultural ethos of the region. This was achieved through organisations such as the Jama’at-e-Islaami. Established with the intent of dispensing the teachings of Islam and ensuring the spread of the religion, the organisation worked through a network of seminaries known as dargahs and madrassas. It endeared itself to the Muslim population of the valley by denigrating what was termed as decadent social customs that involved unnecessary expenditure and effort on the part of the common man which he could ill-afford. Under the garb of simplification of lifestyles and spreading the teachings of Islam, this organisation channelised the fundamentalist principles of Islam and paddled anti-India sentiment. As a result, the Kashmiri Muslim was convinced that he was being hounded by India’s basically Hindu entity and his future lay with the Muslim State of Pakistan. The Kashmiri pundits were identified as symbols of the Indian Hindu state and their eradication from the valley was projected as being of prime importance. The claim of the organisation that it was a non-political and peaceful body was nullified when it acknowledged the existence of Hizbul Mujahedeen, its terrorist wing.
At the international level, Kashmir was projected as a Muslim issue wherein an alien force had forcibly occupied a territory and was committing a plethora of human rights violations on Muslims. This propaganda was expected to serve two purposes. The first was to ensure a regular flow of funds to Pakistan and onwards to Kashmir from a number of primarily oil-rich Muslim nations. That the funds were actually being used to create trouble through the perpetration of acts of terror against India, Pakistan’s arch enemy and Nemesis, was a thing that came to no one’s notice or if it did, it was conveniently overlooked. The second purpose was to project India’s efforts to counter the terrorist assault as a human rights issue, which afforded to the region and the propped up leadership of the separatist cause a lot of attention in the Western world. Interestingly, the human rights violation of the Kashmiri Pundits and their resulting plight was not given the attention that was its due by anyone.
Not much has changed so far as the basic strategy in Kashmir is concerned. The rabid propaganda continues. The modus operandi applied is subtle but fairly obvious to the discerning viewer. Whereas for the consumption of the Western world, the stories revolve around atrocities committed against the defenseless and blameless, particularly women and children, the sympathies of the Muslim world are evoked by describing the killing of pious souls particularly on the brink of, and during the act of prayer. The victim who has suffered is projected as one of Allah’s own devout followers and avenging his suffering the duty of every right thinking Muslim. Thus is Pakistan’s right to interfere in the internal affairs of another nation, justified.
In such a bigoted and vitiated environment it would be naïve to even think that the situation in Kashmir is on the mend. It is necessary for the government and the security forces to meet this new more diabolic challenge with maximum strength and commitment. This environment which is being achieved by patience, understanding and forbearance, has to be sustained for a long period of time to reap the desired results. The Nation cannot lose focus because of the happy picture of a great tourist season and normalcy that is being projected.
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