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On 29th May
night (2009) in Shopian in Kashmir, two girls Nilofer and Asiya were
raped and murdered. The administration tried to prove that it was a
case of death due to drowning. The valley erupted into severe
protests. The favorite slogan of the protesters from last several
years has been,
Hamen Kya Chahiye-Azadi (what
do we want-Freedom). Every act of trampling on the interests of the
people of valley leads to the same. Last time it took place when the
Amarnath agitation sparked by the faulty move of Pro BJP governor of
Kashmir, to acquire vast stretch of land for the shrine.
The present
incident is very disturbing. It shows the role of the army and para-military
forces, the attitude of administration in toeing lines which are
very much insulting to the people of Kashmir, which cover up the
crimes of the forces. Also one should note the tragic plight of the
Kashmiri’s and more so the Kashmiri women at the hands of the people
with the gun, the militants and the army both. The rising militancy
in Kashmir has led to the deployment of more and more forces in
Kashmir. Last two decades in particular have seen the life drying
out there, and the suffering of people caught in the cross fire
between the militant-terrorist outfits and the Indian armed
personnel.
The popular
perception has been that the Kashmir issue is due to the separatism
of Muslims, and that Islam and Jihad is the major culprit. Kashmir
has been mired right from the beginning by the ultra nationalism of
Hindu right pressuring the Indian government to abolish article 370
and fully merge Kashmir with India. After the tragic partition of
India, Kashmir’s Raja Harisingh decided to remain independent. The
Hindutva forces in valley said that a Hindu Kingdom Kashmir (since
the king was a Hindu) should not merge with secular India. When
Pakistan’s army, disguised as tribals, attacked Kashmir, the People
of Kashmir as represented by the National Conference with its leader
Sheikh Abdullah, did not want to merge with Pakistan.
In the face of
aggression Maharaja Harising appealed to Indian government to send
its army to protect Kashmir from the attack by Pakistan army. On the
insistence of Sheikh Abdullah in particular, the army was sent after
the treaty of accession was signed. With Indian army intervention,
Kashmir’s 2/3 became part of India with all the clauses of autonomy,
article 370. With general elections Sheikh Abdullah swept the polls
and became the Prime Minister of Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah must be
credited as being one of the most progressive leaders of the time as
he was determined to undertake land reforms, which he did once he
came to power.
Immediately
after the treaty was signed Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of
Hindu Mahasabha, started campaigning for abolishing the clauses of
autonomy and to forcibly merge it with India. This pressure had its
effect and the attitude of Indian Government, over a period of time,
hardened towards the autonomy clauses. With such attitude
developing, Sheikh felt regret for his decision for accession,
started loud rethinking and started talking to other countries,
including the US and China. With this the Indian Govt. declared him
as anti National and he was imprisoned for long years. This in turn
led to the alienation of Kashmir people. As such on one hand Kashmir
has been the victim of global imperialist policy on one hand and the
attempts to go back from the promise of autonomy, on the other. US
was clear that in the geographically crucial area, Kashmir, which
has its border with many countries, cannot be left alone and so its
stooge Pakistan did all possible to help the disgruntled elements in
Kashmir. The later events showed the attitude of India and Pakistan
as powers trying to take hold of the real Estate called Kashmir.
Kashmir was seen not as constituted by people with their own
aspirations but as a piece of property.
In all
fairness it must be said till Nehru was alive he cautioned restraint
and believed in winning over the hearts and minds of the people of
Kashmir. Even at his time the pressure of Ultra Nationalists inside
and outside the Government kept going up and gradually army was
projected as the answer to the ‘problem of Kashmir.’ Ironically
Pakistan which so far has been in the chains of the rule of Army,
Mullahs and America, named the part of Kashmir, under its control as
Azad Kashmir (Independent Kashmir)! And freedom for Kashmir has been
the favorite theme of most of the dictators ruling the roost, of
course with due support from Uncle Sam. What an irony; Dictators
talking of Freedom! The trajectory of events is long, how after
Sheikh Abdullah’s concern of autonomy changed over to Independence
in the decades of 1970s, and in 1980-1990 to armed struggle for Azad
Kashmir.
Interestingly
after the defeat of Al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan, many of them
turned their attention to Kashmir and partly communalized the issue.
Mostly the theme of the Kashmir struggle has been Kashmiriyat, a
concept which incorporates the values of Vedanta, Buddha and Sufis.
India kept
sending more and more armed personnel to ‘solve’ the problem. There
has been one Indian soldier for every 6-7 Kashmiris. What can be the
life under such circumstances? Army is meant to fight the enemies,
and not for any prolonged stay in any area. The army stay,
domination in an area creates different type of vested interests.
Army is no holy cow! From times immemorial army has been plundering
and raping apart form other things. While it will be wrong to tar
all the armed personnel with single brush, it is also true that
section of army’s attitude to women has not been any thing good to
write about. Be it the case of Manorama in the North East or the
present case of Nilofer and Asiya, the tale is tragic.
The good news
from Kashmir has been that last tow lections have been conducted
fairly democratically, and even the separatists like Sajjad Lone are
now opting for the democratic system with changed equation in
Pakistan, with democracy struggling to come in there, the portents
are healthy. It is time that army is withdrawn at a rapid pace,
democratic process is deepened, guilty of violence against women and
their protectors are punished and army rests in barracks rather than
dictating terms in Kashmir. Hope Mr. Chidambaram promise in this
direction does not remain merely on paper.
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Skilled
Hands converting couplets 
Born
in UP, Educated in Arunachal, Cracked UPSC while doing Ph. D in
Delhi: 
‘Advising
Restraint, work for the Revival of the Community’:
Inquilab
1857 to Sacchar Report-Nothing has changed for Indian Muslims:
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