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Mainstream, VOL LI, No 32, July 27, 2013

Normalise the Abnormalcy in Jammu and Kashmir: A Way-out Framework

Sunday 28 July 2013

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by Showkat Ahmad

The problem of Jammu and Kashmir has been with us ever since the accession of the state to the Indian Union in October 1947. Throughout the chequered history of the past six decades, Kashmir has been not just a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan but a testing ground of the secular, democratic and federal nature of the Indian Republic and the two-nation theory of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The year 2012 seemed to be the year of peace, normalcy, hot and dry season, and huge presence of tourists in the Kashmir Valley. Some academicians even went to the extent of saying that the year 2012 was the year of reading and understanding the minds of the Kashmiri youth by organising conventions, seminars, workshops and interactive sessions with the youth of the other States of India. Non-governmental organisations mushroomed in the State to organise these events. That year the State Government started forming youth wings and student unions, giving them a political space to address their issues. These were important positive political developments that Kashmir politics has ever seen in her history since its accession to India. But the question is: how long would the State Government sustain this positive discourse to restore normalcy in Kashmir? In the last week of summer 2012 on the one hand we had seen tourists and Amarnath pilgrims going back to their home towns and on the other we had also seen human rights violations by none other than the security forces loaded with the AFSPA starting to increase. In the beginning of the tourist season 2012 the Kashmir Valley had seen the phase of attacking a 200 year-old shrine (Dastigeer Sahab) simply to disturb the normalcy of the tourist season. Therefore, the State Government should look vigorously at this time-frame (May to August).

If we apply this “Time Frame Theory” (May-August and September-April), the Jammu and Kashmir State appears to consist of two markedly different pictures. The contrast between the majestic snow-capped Himalayas, beautiful green valleys, ponds, streams and a huge number of tourists on the banks of the famed Dal Lake, on the one hand, and bunkers draped with grenade-proof mesh and armed soldiers lining the streets, on the other, could not be starker. Paradoxically, both images of Kashmir exist simultaneously, never separated by more than a few miles.

The debate over which image is representative has often focused on the idea of “normalcy”. Those sympathetic to the traditional position of the Indian Government have attempted to emphasise the normalcy of Kashmiri life: projecting images of tourists, floating shikara boats, and lotus gardens. Those critical of the Indian claim to Kashmir have attempted to expose the normalcy as a myth, instead projecting Kashmir as a heavily militarised and occupied territory. Whether normalcy is a reality or a myth in Kashmir was vigorously debated in those days, both sides marshalling data on tourist influxes, violence levels, death counts, and election turnouts. Therefore, the time-frame of May to August occasionally (2011-2012) seems to offer real normalcy but thereafter from September to April this Tourist Phase Peace Theory becomes a myth because Kashmir is basically the people of Kashmir. Meeting their aspirations is fundamental to creating real peace. Coercing them into silence can’t be equated with peace; rather it is a myth.

If Kashmir is normal or peaceful, then why can’t our Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Indian Government remove the AFSPA? If Kashmir is normal then what are more than seven hundred thousand Indian troops doing here? If Kashmir is normal or peaceful why then the killings of two youth happened one in Bandipora and the other in Shopian in 2012? Therefore, we can’t equate the tourism normalcy theory with peace. These are two different things. In fact, tourism peace is the outcome of real peace not vice versa. The people of Kashmir aspire for peace, but that has to be peace with dignity and honour. Kashmir is a political problem and it needs a political solution.

Within this context politicians spin realities to create myths about their people and their State in order to take them forward to a better life. But when such myths are spun out of self-interest then, tragically, the result can be misery and death. Kashmir, it would seem, falls into this second category. The reality, according to the people of Kashmir, is that they want an end to the corruption that has blighted their society, they want to live in harmony with their fellow countrymen and women, they want a secular state without borders, they want their children from different communities and faiths to go to school together, they want an end to all forms of discrimination, they want an end to the abuse of human rights and killings, they want India and Pakistan to stop using them for their own selfish reasons, they want to be masters of their own destinies and to this end they want negotiations in good faith. But if one looks back objectively, one can trace the beginning of the Kashmir problem and its aggravation to the denial to the people of the State of civil liberties, of democratic and human rights including the right to freedom of speech, of the right to protest and form an Opposition party, of the right to vote and to elect a government of their choice. (Ajay Chrungoo, head, Panun Kashmir movement)

In June 2010 the Kashmir Valley was in turmoil with continuous mass protests. The feature of these protests was the participation of the youth who were protesting by throwing stones at the security forces. As many as 120 people died due to police firings and other police actions and many more suffered injuries. Most of them were below 25 years of age. The protests were sparked off following reports of a false encounter in which three villagers were killed after being taken to the Line of Control and shown to be militants crossing the border. The protests intensified with each death due to police firing, drawing in women and children too. The main forces driving these protests were the youth. These mass protests graphically illustrated the deep sense of alienation of the people from the Indian state. At no time was the gulf between India and the Kashmiri people so wide. This serious situation called for an examination of the entire Kashmir problem and the ruling National Conference party had to spell out its approach to the issue. Consequently, New Delhi appointed three chief interlocutors and they said: “Polls and the Kashmir issue are far from each other. People are participating in elections to address their basic issues.” (Hindustan Times, Srinagar, May 16, 2011) They have further narrated the history of Kashmir as a history of the denial of democracy. It is a history of broken promises and commitments and the inability of the Indian ruling classes to recognise that J&K has a special status in the Indian Union given its history at the time of independence and partition. The Indian State, which had initially recognised this special status for J&K, now refuses to maintain this position.

In the beginning of the year 2013 India again exposed its real face by hanging innocent Afzal Guru. To quote M. M. Ansari over the issue of the martyred Afzal Guru, “I fail to understand why he was hanged when his number was 28th. Why he was made a scapegoat and for which purpose he was executed though the killers of Rajiv Gandhi were in line before him. These questions the Central Government must answer and New Delhi must satisfy the people of Kashmir and answer them the motive behind the untimely execution of Afzal Guru, Such tactics are bound to alienate the people of Kashmir and it is very unfortunate that the Government of India didn’t take the recommendations of the interlocutors very seriously.” (February 25, 2013, Greater Kashmir daily news-paper) Consequently, all this was an indication of the non-serious, dishonest and lethargic approach of the so-called world’s largest democratic country, India, towards the innocent Kashmiri people.

Looking at the way the Kashmiri youth are being killed, harassed, terrorised and kidnapped or illegally arrested by the police and intelligence agencies, it seems there is no law, no government, no judiciary, no Parliament and no respect for human rights at all. It seems that an emergency has been imposed on the youth of Kashmir. In the Kashmir Valley lawlessness has become the order of the day. Slowly and firmly anarchy is taking the State into its grip and it is heading towards becoming a police state—at least for the Kashmiri youth. The government, the administration, the police and the intelligence agencies of this State are suffering from the worst kind of youth-phobia. The police, paramilitary forces loaded with the AFSPA and intelligence agencies have got a free hand to do whatever they like and the way they like. Implicating the Kashmiri youth in false cases has become rampant and the police seem to be accountable to none. Sometimes it appears that the police, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies are running this country. Time and again when the matter reaches the court, the court issues some directions and rebuffs the police and intelligence agencies. But after some time, they resume harassing and kidnapping the people of Kashmir with more aggression and intensity. Gradually the largest democracy of the world is becoming a country of highest number of custodial deaths, tortures, illegal detentions and killing of innocent people in fake encounters. The protectors of law have become lawbreakers. The judiciary is mum. Politicians are enjoying the luxuries while the poor and marginalised are suffering. In all this, the youth of Kashmir is at the receiving end. (Killings of Bandipora and Shopian youth in the year 2012)

Moreover, very recently a Kashmiri pursuing his doctorate degree in Hyderabad University, Mudasir Ahmad, was hanged to death and the a Baramullah youth was killed by the Indian armed forces loaded with the AFSPA. These are clear indications of war against the innocent Kashmiri people. Where would it lead us and can this state be called peaceful? No, it is a state of anarchy and lawlessness.

The civil society and so-called our intellectuals should come out to save this unstable State from becoming a police state. Laws of the land must be respected by all. Looking at the current state of affairs, one may believe that there is a constitutional guarantee for these shameful acts in the “largest democracy” of the world. The perpetrators of these shameful acts are not punished. More disgusting is the fact that the culture of impunity for the perpetrators is being nurtured, protected, encouraged and safe-guarded by the establishment. The most shameful and disgusting fact is that the perpetrators of these inhuman acts are being promoted and awarded. In short, the culture of impunity for the perpetrators before the law is taking the country towards a very dangerous zone. The poor, deprived and marginalised segments of society including the discriminated minorities, particularly the Muslims in India, are being subjected to these trials and tribulations.

In the name of national interest, humanity is being stripped of dignity. Humans are not being treated like humans and a large number of deprived citizens of India are being forced to live like third class citizens of this country, particularly Muslims.

A peach fruit graft on an apple tree grows peaches, not apples. A secessionist graft on a sovereign democratic body grows only secessionism. In fact secessionist political grafts assume a malignant tendency to throw up metastasis elsewhere on the body polity. The democratic process can become effective if it does not allow itself to become an insulator of the regressive content of secessionism. Democracy wins if it does not offer itself as a willing accomplice in creating a false consciousness based on historical distortions and falsehoods. We, the people of Kashmir, have undergone traumas associated with violence. So it is the people of this place who realise the value of peace and have a deep yearning for the same. But it is also the people who know what the realistic contours of peace are. Simply wishing does not give you peace, especially when there are powerful agencies interested in undoing it. We can’t simply wish them away.

The quest for real peace means taking cognisance of different dimensions of the problem and then addressing them in the manner they deserve. Our young Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s helpless hands, the PDP’s backbiting Opposition approach, the Congress’ soft and opportunistic attitude and Geelani Sahab’s strike calls from Delhi will lead us nowhere. The only thing which can lead us in building a peaceful state is sincerity and goodwill from Delhi and Pakistan, unanimity within the Kashmiri leadership and flexibility from all the three parties—India, Pakistan and Kashmir—to listen to each other and work out the amicable way which will take us towards a stable South Asia and a peaceful and prosperous Kashmir.

However, the elections in 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir are very crucial for all the political parties in the State. No political party will be in a position to win a majority of seats in the State Assembly. Therefore, the parties have to go beyond sadak, pani and bijli slogans. There should be some new and innovative steps and programmes that will suit to the voters. In fact, the elections in Pakistan are the biggest example before our leaders. However, the separatist leaders can also take a lesson from Pakistan that the country, which was the home of militant activities, has now turned into the most vibrant democratic country in South Asia. Therefore, let democracy flourish and expand in all dimensions in Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, democracy must, in turn, be socialised in a substantive way. Then there is a possibility of a peaceful and democratic Kashmir to emerge in the full sense. However, the interesting prerequisite for this is to normalise the abnormalcy in Jammu and Kashmir for the smooth and fair conduct of elections in the State.

To conclude, we can say at present the gulf between the people of the Kashmir Valley and the people of India is vast and wide. The people in the rest of the country are being fed with various stereotypes about the Kashmiri people and the nature of the Kashmir problem. Some forces of vested interests have been depicting the Kashmiris as secessionists, terrorists and pro-Pakistan as they are Muslims. It is necessary to campaign amongst the people about the real nature of the problem in Jammu and Kashmir through people-to-people contacts and online interactions with the young youth of the State.

We have to highlight the fact that the people of the Valley had fought against the raiders from Pakistan and opted to join the Indian Union. These people have been alienated by the history of broken pledges and commitments which India had made from time to time. It is necessary to have a political solution to the problem of Kashmir by addressing the causes for the alienation as the people of Kashmir feel. The solution has to be within a democratic, secular and federal framework. Ensuring a special status to J&K and provision of maximum autonomy will be the way forward.

Showkat Ahmad is pursuing his doctorate programme (Ph.D) in the Department of Political Science, University of Kashmir. He can be contacted at sahilshowkat@gmail.com

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