As the Valley unites, the nation must listen

After being shell-shocked by the massacre in the meadows of Pahalgam, the people of Kashmir have risen up and responded in one voice against the inhuman carnage. It has been very encouraging to see that not just politicians, business associations, professional bodies but also apolitical motely groups of men and women come onto the streets to sympathise with the victims and stand firmly against the crime committed against humanity. Indeed, it has been seen as a criminal act against Kashmir and Kashmiris. Rarely, if ever before, has such a show of solidarity been put up so spontaneously.

The entire Valley has revolted against the killings and how. Right across the Valley, from Kulgam to Kupwara, and from Shopian to Sopore, people have been unequivocal in their condemnation of the killings of the 26 tourists. Srinagar, of course, was on the forefront of all the condemnation gatherings. Silence is now seen as condoning. That precisely is the sentiment in the nooks and corners of the Valley. The solidarity with the people in the rest of the country has been exceptional. Sad that it isn't getting enough traction on the social media, which is fuelling unvarnished toxicity.

The elected state government, on its part, apart from reacting to the situation, having been caught completely off guard, has also in a rare gesture of proactive consensus-building sought the convening of a session of the local Assembly to discuss the massacre of civilians and the way forward. This is a significant step towards not only articulating and endorsing the Kashmiri viewpoint but also seeking to build a political consensus on limiting the fallout of the terrorist attack.

The spontaneous response of the people and the efforts of the local political class represent the green shoots of a people's movement for peace. This could be the turning point because till now, civil society has looked up to the state to lead the way. This time around, it is being led by not just the institution of civil society but also people from all walks of life.

This nascent movement needs to be consciously developed into an institutionalised peace movement of the civil society of the Kashmir. It must be increasingly assimilated deeper into the society, especially the younger generation. More than the government, it is the civil society that needs to respond, cutting across political parties and ideologies. The base of the new narrative has to be set by the institutions of civil society.

The public expression of rejection of violence this time around is being done in the belief that it is blatantly violating the values and norms, indeed the value system of Kashmiris. If persisted with and nurtured carefully, it will, over time, build a network of social connectedness between the civil society institutions, transcending the boundaries of the Valley.

Indeed, a lesser-known reason for the historical alienation of the Valley from the rest of the country has been the apathy of the national civil society towards Kashmir. While the trade and commerce networks, including tourism, have played a key role in integrating the Valley, it has been the social disengagement of the rest of the country with Kashmir that led to alienation. The efforts to politically disengage from the Indian state during the 1990s was a consequence, not the cause.

To take the argument to a different level, when causative factors and prescriptive ideas for the Kashmir problem are sought, the focus always is on the Indian state, as in the Union government. This has been done without putting it in a larger societal context and the role of civil society in creating and furthering the problem in Kashmir. Or, at the very least, in not helping resolve the matter. The limits to state action are obvious.

In the context of this apathy of the past, the antagonism that is on display in some pockets of the country is not only disturbing but also detrimental in the long term. The harassment of Kashmiris, especially the younger generation — the students — in many states will nip the emerging people's peace initiative even before it gains any traction. This cannot be the way forward for anyone.

The Union and all state governments must step in and decisively quell these fringe elements from gaining the centre-stage of a negative narrative. The reaction of the masses in the Valley should make it clear to everyone that Kashmiris have never treated tourists as ATMs for their trade and tourism enterprises. Their presence, of course, generates incomes, but over the years, it also builds robust and enduring social connectedness with the rest of the country. Indeed, travel and tourism are a peace industry.

Historically, in Kashmir, tourists have been harbingers and ambassadors of socio-economic integration with the mainland and respectful of human differences and cultural diversity, which has resulted in revitalisation and regeneration of native cultures. Kashmiris can survive without incomes from tourism but they cannot live in social isolation in Kashmir amid ostracisation in the rest of the country.

This is not to minimise the damage that even episodic bouts of violence can do to the economy of the Valley, which is primarily an import-substituting export-oriented one. Within an hour of the massacre at Pahalgam getting known across the globe, foreign investors who had over the last couple of years made a careful foray into the Valley in small startups and enterprises were concerned about the situation in the Valley. The response of the domestic investors, who according to official data have submitted proposals worth nearly Rs 1.75 lakh crore, may not be as instantaneous, but it will not be very different if such episodes of violence reoccur. This is bound to lead to economic distress.

Today, India, both as a polity and society, is battling it out to recalibrate its foundational balance as a nation. Kashmir played a distinctive role in the construct of a post-colonial Indian nationhood. Even now, despite its bruised identity, it can become an important element in building a national counter-narrative. And in this, the people of Kashmir are pointing in the right direction.

Haseeb A Drabu is ex-Finance Minister, J&K.