Valley’s song of sorrow

AS Dulat

Tu idhar udhar ki baat na kar,
Yeh bata ke kafila luta kaise,
Mujhe Rahzanu se gila nahin,
Teri Rahbari ka sawaal hai

— Allama Iqbal

AND so it came to pass... Two months ago, Kashmir on the surface was at its glorious best, overflowing with tourists from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Yet all was not well, and as very often happens, everything changed overnight. Burhan Wani’s killing was only the catalyst, or excuse, given the subterranean anger, hatred and alienation. Something was always waiting to happen. The status quo we banked on favoured the other side more than us. And now, Pakistan, always ready to fish in Kashmir’s troubled waters, is all over us. Lashkar and Jaish are calling the shots. Unwittingly, Burhan Wani’s killing has become Kashmir’s Bastille Day moment.

The paradise on earth presents a depressing, stifled scenario. India, as we say, is one from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, with Kashmir our “atoot ang”. But the Kashmiri feels like an alien under seige, persistently humiliated — true, false, exaggerated, it is all the same a telling perception. Worst, we appear to be losing our emotional bond with Kashmir.

When we stop talking to the Kashmiris, believing that they are under the influence of Pakistan, it demonstrates a lack of confidence. Their links with Pakistan are dependent on our links with them. Every Kashmiri leader knows Kashmir is going nowhere — it is with India and will always remain so. But we need to talk, and never stop talking to Kashmiris. As Mufti Saheb said, there was no other way but the Vajpayee way. Mehbooba reiterated the same sentiments while invoking Vajpayee during her visit to Delhi — statesmanship could still transform the setback into oppurtunity. The first step in putting things together, as Henry Kissinger suggested in the context of the Brexit controversy in Britain, was to rediscover confidence. Omar Abdullah said it was our inability to address the anger on the street that was keeping 

it alive.

Pakistan is always a factor, but let us not exaggerate it. Pakistani flags come out in the Valley out of frustration and anger, rather than any love for it. Pakistan has no love for Kashmir and the Kashmiri is equally angry with India and Pakistan. Pakistan has only brought death and destruction to Kashmir, compromising Kashmiri aspirations. The Pakistan High Commissioner’s needlessly provocative statement on August 14 did no good to Kashmir. Nor does their insistence that the separatists pay obeisence to the High Commission. Pakistan is only a fallback position for Kashmir.

In January 1990, Governor Jagmohan dissolved the state Assembly and J&K remained under Governor’s rule till 1996. Elected representatives are once again facing threats to quit, or face the consequences. The winter of 1989-90, eerie as it was, is finding echoes in the summer of 2016. Militancy almost dead, is again back with a vengeance. It is a frightening scenario.

The situation in South Kashmir appears out of control and going from bad to worse. There has been a permanent hartal and curfew for the last 44 days. Yet protests and killings continue. Boys in their teens are in the forefront ready to do or die. Women who rarely come out in Kashmir, too, are protesting in large numbers. Seven year olds are demanding ‘azadi’ without understanding what it means. There is a fire raging in Kashmir whose flames need urgent dousing before they spread to Jammu and create a communal situation.

And yet a vast majority of Kashmiris want out — peace more than anything else. And we owe it to them to provide an oppurtunity. Whenever anything goes wrong in Kashmir, Delhi is the first to get the blame, followed by its Kashmiri “stooge” (Mehbooba in this case). If Delhi finds it difficult to understand Kashmiri leaders, Kashmiri leaders find it more difficult to fathom Delhi. And hence Mehbooba finds herself alone in the wilderness. We have little other option, but to give her total support, and sometimes, listen to the voice that she “feels” rather than what she is required to say.

There is another erroneous belief that Kashmiris may not be prepared to talk. Kashmiris are always ready and willing to talk. On August 20, the Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen DS Hooda, made a very reasonable offer to talk with everyone, including the separatists, to bring peace to the Valley. And the Mirwaiz immediately responded positively, going to the extent of saying that Kashmiris were prepared to talk to the Army if it could find a solution to Kashmir. If there was no Hurriyat, we might need to invent one since it represents a thought that was willing to be mainstreamed by engagement. Now that  the Mirwaiz has time to think, he needs to seriously contemplate his future. Omar Abdullah has conducted himself impeccably as leader of the opposition, and already looks the future leader of Kashmir.

Ultimately, the protests, which are going nowhere, will become wearisome. So, this too shall pass. But the hangover could create more terrorists. Discontent has long tentacles. Burhan Wani is said to be a product of the 2010 uprising and now his father, Muzzafar, a headmaster, is demonstrating pretensions of a leader.

Kashmir deserves better. We need to spare a thought for Kashmir. As the former home minister, PC Chidambaram, said: “Kashmir is a unique problem that needed a unique solution.” At the very least, Kashmir deserves accommodation, self-respect and justice. Balochistan is all very well, but what we need to discuss with Pakistan is Kashmir.

The writer is a former chief of RAW