tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10535796827173396622024-02-19T03:29:46.443-05:00KashmirGlobalHelping reform Kashmiri society.KashmirGlobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13395052709081655712noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053579682717339662.post-75582785971173527292010-09-19T20:46:00.001-04:002010-09-19T20:51:39.894-04:00A dance of lead and blood in Kashmir…A father looks at his son’s lifeless body, unsure if he is dreaming or awake. Surely, the boy will soon go about his business as he has for 17 years; tears well up in his eyes. Fathers are not supposed to cry. And, where is his mother? Why is she silent? She looks strangely incapable of speaking. Who are these other people gathered here? They want Azaadi? The father only wants his son to wake up. That would be his Azaadi. A crushing weight sets on his heart. He wants to rip it out. Why won’t the boy’s mother say something? Anything? The boy was just playing with his friends 30 minutes back and now he refuses to get up. Hot lead in his veins has stopped the blood cold in its tracks. Oh this heartache; why won’t it stop? Will it ever stop? <br /><br />As this father contemplates life without his son, there are countless other fathers and mothers who have fallen silent, their rage so immense that words cannot express the depth of their loss. Contemplating a lifetime without those young ones who they fed and washed and nurtured and…just loved, is just impossible. What will life be for these unfortunate people? Who will console the inconsolable? Who will make things whole? But, things will never be whole again.<br /><br />Throw a stone and get a bullet. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. But, it is like this in Kashmir. Over a 100 lives later, there is still no stopping the hot lead from freezing the Kashmiri’s hot blood. How many fathers have to bury their children? How many mothers will have to sit stone-faced for the rest of their lives?<br /><br />Until next time...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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Writing regularly requires far greater discipline than I possess but perhaps that is because my mind works in fits and starts. In any event, after the crazy times of the Amarnath Yatra controversy the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir provide another opportunity to write. So, that is what I am going to do.<br /><br />Basically, this post is about the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Against expectations Kashmiris have voted in fairly large numbers and that is going to raise many questions for all the players, most of all for separatists who are becoming increasingly marginalized in the state’s politics. In my view they deserve it.<br /><br />The ongoing election process is long but early returns have thrown up an interesting scenario—Kashmiris are voting in large numbers ignoring pleas of separatists to boycott the polls. In its wisdom, the Election Commission of India (ECI) decided to hold the state assembly election over 7 phases—yes, 7! But my early misgivings about the length of the exercise, especially given the dire predictions of poll boycotts and low voter turnout in the aftermath of the Amarnath controversy, have given way to a degree of anticipation in the wake of relatively high voter turnout in the first two phases of the election.<br /><br />Unlike past elections, voters seem to have largely voted of their free will. Local newspapers appear to confirm that voter turnout has been much higher than anticipated. What is more, it seems that voters are turning out without many serious allegations about involuntary voting as was alleged in past elections. Of course, there have been some allegations about fraud and clashes between political groups but the overall message appears to be that people in Kashmir (not to mention Jammu and Ladakh) are voting in respectable numbers. All this is happening in spite of a poll boycott call sponsored by various separatist groups. Anti-election protestors have been curbed to some extent by the government but even this hasn’t had much impact on voter turnout. It also appears that the poll boycott is being heeded (to some extent) in urban areas but largely ignored in rural settings. This is creating quite a stir in Kashmir and perhaps also among observers in New Delhi and Islamabad.<br /><br />What does the higher than anticipated voter turnout suggest about Kashmir’s political situation? Does this mean people in Kashmir have reconciled to being Indians? Is the Kashmir problem solved? Are separatists losing their hold over Kashmiris? Are people simply voting for good governance, keeping in abeyance their aspirations for a long-term solution to the Kashmir problem? All these are good questions that have no immediate good answers. Overall, it does seem that people want some peace and stability even if they may still want a long-term solution to the Kashmir problem. I wouldn’t say that the pro-India politicians should be jumping up and down with joy and take credit for getting people to vote. Kashmiri politicians have largely disgraced themselves over the years. The Indian government should also not feel to comfortable with this situation even though it might certainly heave a sigh of relief that things are moving in a direction that is certainly not a negative one for India.<br /><br />Kashmiri separatists are at a crossroads. The one group that really needs to start worrying is the separatist camp. In fact, I have for a long time felt that Kashmiri separatists were a bunch that did not deserve the loyalty of Kashmiri people. Ever since the “movement” started in Kashmir, the separatists have shown themselves to be corrupt opportunists who lacked cohesiveness and a vision and a plan. They simply lucked out that Kashmiris were so resentful of Indian rule. Time and again as the separatists faltered, Indian (and Pakistani) interventions propped them up either by design or by folly. However, the separatists have never really acknowledged that they have a limited following in the state. Of course, they never had any following in much of the Jammu and Ladakh provinces. In Kashmir, they did have support but it was never clear how much since there was no feasible way to find that out. But, my suspicions have proved correct. The separatists really don’t have much support in Kashmir—possibly in the towns and in some rural areas but I would bet that if an internationally supervised election were to be held in just Kashmir (forget Jammu and Ladakh), the Hurriyats led by Mr. Geelani and Mr. Farooq would not get more votes than mainstream politicians. They claim to represent the state. They don’t even represent Kashmir, much less Jammu and Ladakh. I really believe that to be the case. And, the reason for that is that they really haven’t done anything to earn the respect and trust of Kashmiris. <br /><br />This is my assessment and I am willing to be persuaded that I am wrong. But, if the early trends in voting patterns continue, Kashmiri separatists will have to think hard about their future direction. But wait, the separatists haven’t thought about the future for almost twenty years since the “movement” began. There really isn’t much chance that they are going to begin now. The more things change, the more they remain the same.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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Furthermore, why did some people in Jammu take such umbrage to the idea that title to some forest land would not be transferred to the Shrine Board for conduct of the yatra and instead its conduct would be facilitated by the government? After all, the yatra is not attended by people from Jammu alone. I suspect most pilgrims are from other parts of India and there has been a constant effort to improve facilities for pilgrims. Pretty soon, the controversy became Jammu versus Kashmir and Hindu versus Muslim. Quite frankly, I am amazed that Jammu's citizenry is allowing itself to be held hostage by extremisty elements who have helped turn this controversy into a major crisis for Inda's secularism. But, as we all now, some individuals and organizations fan the flames more than others. I will leave you with a couple of examples...<br /><br /><p><strong>Exhibit 1: Rajiv Sikri</strong> (former senior officer of Indian Ministry of External Affairs) writing in Rediff.com says, <em>"To my mind, whether or not the land in question should be transferred to the SASB is only a technical question, not the heart of the issue. The more important thing is whether the state government feels that it has an obligation to improve the facilities that would make the pilgrimage of thousands of Hindu devotees more secure and more comfortable."</em> He goes on to give the example of the Haj subsidy to Indian Muslim pilgrims as a reason to improve facilities for Amarnath pilgrims and adds that <em>"Perhaps our self-righteous and petty Kashmiri politicians in India's only Muslim-majority state should reflect over these facts and tell us whether they think it is at least their moral if not political obligation to be more caring and sensitive to Hindu pilgrims visiting Amarnath."</em> </p><p><strong>My take</strong>: I am not sure about Kashmiri politicians but I for one do not believe it is the government's responsibility to make religious pilgrimages more comfortable. Governments have a different role and Mr. Sikri should know that. This applies to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi pilgrimages just as much as it does to the Haj. So, please, Mr. Sikri, before you ask others to ponder over things, you should at least review the tenets of good governance given that you probably spent a lifetime in the Indian civil service.</p><p><strong>Exhibit 2: S.K. Sinha</strong> (Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir) spoke at a seminar "How to combat Religious Fundamentalism" at New Delhi's India International Center and said the following: <em>"There is nothing unusual in the land transfer. Thousands of hectares of forest land have been given to Reliance to put up towers, to the public works department for road construction, and to the power department for erecting poles. But the land transfer to SASB (Shri Amarnath Shrine Board) was given a communal colour."</em> He added <em>"Even in Jammu, forest land was given to the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. For the Mughal Road, which is necessary for the development of the region, about 10,000 trees have been cut and it is ecologically harmful. But for SASB, not a single tree has been cut."</em></p><p><strong>My take</strong>: Will someone please explain to the discredited Mr. Sinha that there is a fundamental difference between public works such as construction of the Mughal Road or setting up of communication towers as opposed to government involvement in religious activity such as the Amarnath Yatra? If this is the thinking of top officials of the Indian government, one can hardly blame the poor folks who go out to die for their gods and godesses. Mr. Sinha has displayed a clear lack of understanding of the job of a governor in India's secular democracy. I wonder how these people make it to such positions! At least they should be given some basic training in good governance before being sent to sensitive spots such as Jammu and Kashmir.</p><p><strong>Exhibit 3: Leela Karan Sharma</strong> (Convenor, Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti) on the occasion of India's independence day, made a speech to hundreds of activists and declared that <em>"This is a historical place where Dogra rulers waged war against Britishers and we pledge today a war against Kashmir-centric leaders till victory. The issue today is also a war between nationalists and separatists." </em></p><p><strong>My take</strong>: Mr. Sharma is doing his country no favours. People like him are the divisive characters that we need to tackle head-on. There is no war between nationalists and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. My sense is that Mr. Sharma and his ilk have done nothing for the Yatra that comes even close to what Kashmiri Muslims have done for that pilgrimage. The people of Jammu need not fret over the Yatra. It will go on (hopefully in a manner that takes everyone's interests into account). But, the question for Jammuites, as it is for Kashmiris, is what is important for their future--a hyped up, totally retrograde controversy that will lead to divisions or a shared future that easily transcends the dirty politics of communal forces?</p><p>Until next time...</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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