news details |
|
|
| 'Kashmiri nation' can't impose its will on Jammu | | Unachievable Goal | | Neha
Jammu, Mar 14: Hurriyat leader and Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) chief Shabir Ahmad Shah yesterday stated in Srinagar that there is but one way in which the impending war and destruction could be averted in South Asia and that is by solving the Kashmir issue. "Kashmiri nation can't be kept hostage in the name of economic packages for long. If peaceful solution of Kashmir doesn't emerge soon, Kashmiris will be forced to come on streets again. The secret of development and peace in South Asia lies in solution to Kashmir issue according to the aspirations of its people. Kashmiris have been sacrificing for their cause since decades and New Delhi has always tried to maintain status quo over Kashmir issue. But now time has come when solution of Kashmir issue has become inevitable," he, in fact, said while addressing his supporters. He, in addition, opposed those who have been suggesting that the Kashmir issue should be kept on backburner for ten years saying it would be an act of betrayal.
Shah did not say anything new. He only reiterated what he has been preaching since years and, hence, not significant. But what was significant was the term "Kashmiri nation" that he used while underlining the need for a solution to the so-called Kashmir problem. Nation means people who share a set of common characteristics and occupy and independently control a specific geographical area with the acknowledgement (if not approval) of most of the world community. The people of Kashmir just cannot be termed as a nation. For, Kashmir houses a highly diverse population. For example, it houses Sunnis, Shias, Gujjars and Bakerwals, Paharis or Pathowaris, Sikhs, some Hindus and a few Christians. An overwhelming majority of the Hindus quit the Valley more than two decades ago because they were not willing to join the anti-India struggle launched by fanatics. The people of Kashmir are not one like the Palestinians. Their aspirations are different and there are contradictions in their political perceptions. Besides, all the Kashmiris do not belong to one ethnic group. Take, for example, Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis or Pathowaris, though all are Sunni Muslims. They are ethnically different.
But more than that, Kashmir is part of the state, a small part occupying less than 11 per cent of the state's land area. The two other regions of the state, which are historically, geographically, culturally, religiously, politically, and ethnically distinct, occupy more than 89 per cent of the state's geographical area. An overwhelming majority of the people in these two distinct provinces, besides the displaced Kashmiri Hindus who now live in Jammu, does not share the views of separatists such as Shah. On the contrary, they vehemently oppose them. Their battle-cry was, and continues to be, full integration into India. It's not a secret.
The fact of the matter is that Jammu and Kashmir is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual state. It's mini-India. Neither Kashmir nor any social group in Kashmir could impose its will on Jammu and Ladakh or on the people who inhabit these two regions. They cannot even think in these terms. They are not the chief determinants. They do not represent even Kashmir. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
