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| Diversity, Kashmiriat, Corruption, Weak Govt | | Jammu & Kashmir in the words of Padgaonkar | | Rustam
Jammu, Dec 29: “The third angle relates to the Pakistan-occupied-Jammu & Kashmir. The Line of Control has divided many families. Both sides have mountains. Gujjars inhabit these areas. Take, for example, Gilgit. The relatives and ancestors of the people of Gilgit lived, and continue to live, in Baluchistan. POJK, which people on other side call Azad Kashmir, doesn't house Kashmiri-speaking people. The population of ethnic Kashmiris in POJK is not even one per cent. We have to take cognizance of this demographic profile of the region also. Because in 1994 the Indian Parliament had adopted a resolution which said the only issue that still remained to be resolved between India and Pakistan was the merger of POJK with India. Thus, according to me, the Kashmir problem has three dimensions - Centre-State relations, internal dimension/empowerment and Jammu & Kashmir and POJK".
"We have been committing a grave mistake since six decades and the mistake is that we are looking at the Kashmir issue the way the people of the Valley want. I agree that the Valley has witnessed more terror-related incidents. Many people have lost their lives there. But it is also true that all the chief ministers of the state, barring Ghulam Nabi Azad, have been from the Valley. The militant outfits are also Kashmir based. That is why the media and other people focused their attention on the Valley alone. The result of this approach was the neglect of Ladakh and Jammu province. So, when we talk of diversity we talk of the various aspects of the state's diversity and complexity. We talk of diversity in terms of language. At least eight languages are spoken in the state. There is cultural diversity. There is one more important thing. People say that Jammu & Kashmir is a Muslim-majority state. It's true in a sense. But this doesn't mean that the Muslim population is homogeneous. It is not. The first difference is that the state houses Sunnis and Shiite Muslims. The Muslims who inhabit the areas adjoining the Line of Control are ethnically different. They are Gujjars, Bakerwals, Paharis and so on. They speak different languages. Their culture is different from that of the Muslims who inhabit the Valley proper. They are like Dogras. They have rich literature. They are culturally very rich. They live and co-exist peacefully because they are Dogras who do not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims. They call themselves Rajputs. Besides, they feel proud of this fact. The people of the country do not know all this. We have discussed in detail this aspect of the state's demographic profile and diversity in our report because I believe that each and every socio-cultural group in the state must get the right to preserve its identity, culture and heritage".
"Yes, we also focused our attention on Kashmiriat. Once upon a time it meant something great; people professing different faiths and belonging to different cultures lived together. But I have come to believe that it has become a story of the past. The Kashmiriat stands considerably eroded. It is now confined to only a few pockets in the Valley. All this happened because Islam in the Valley has become reactionary. The number of Wahabis and the Salafis has increased in the Valley manifold. This has resulted in the erosion of Kashmiriat and rise of extremism and fundamentalism. Hence, I do not consider Kashmiriat as an important factor that could be considered while devising a solution to the Kashmir issue".
"The Government of Jammu & Kashmir is very weak. We all know that Jammu & Kashmir gets 90 per cent money from the Centre for developmental and other activities. But it cannot utilize these funds on time. This happens because the government doesn't have the required system and administrative apparatus. As for corruption, it is everywhere in the country. But in Jammu & Kashmir corruption is deep-rooted and is of different type. There is Dal Lake. We have never seen such houses in the country as we saw near and around Dal Lake. The question arises from where the money came? There is no industry in the valley. There are no big factories in Kashmir. Yes, there is carpet industry, dry fruit there. There are also people who are engaged in the business of furniture. But almost all the things are imported from outside Kashmir. So, how is it that the people of Kashmir have such purchasing capacity? The shops and malls are full of costly goods. This means only one thing - rampant corruption. We know that the people of Kerala have a tremendous purchasing capacity. At the same time, we know the reasons for this. The reason is that the people of Kerala go to the Gulf countries, work their and send money to their families. But this is not true of Kashmir Valley and yet the people of Kashmir have become so rich that they can buy highly costly goods. It is clear that the state government is weak and corruption at its zenith. This has led to dissatisfaction among the people of Kashmir in a sense. They say that India does pump into Kashmir money but it doesn't ensure that the money reaches the right people. It is the misuse of the Indian money which has led to the alienation from New Delhi". (To be continued) |
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