The past few months could have been a turning-point  for Kashmir vis-à-vis Government of India. Everything, ranging from daily street protests  encompassing anger, frustration, sentiment was enough to give a wake up call to New Delhi.  It was expected that  New Delhi would react. It   did. But  it reacted in the manner in which  it had been over the decades. It saw a route to peace through a flurry of appeals to the people of Kashmir and its youth. And, it also made a host of promises  but at the end of the day an  unanswered question remained about its intentions  to  do anything on the ground. There was  no political action nor  an end to the cycle of violence.
Therefore, the  time for wake up call is over.  Different situations demand different remedies. The past can serve as  a slate where lessons of the history are written in bold. It is no point in reminding  that un-kept promises  are far more dangerous proposition than not making promises at all.
So far, this   operation to revive  appeals   for peace  have  created more problems than  solving any. There is no peace because  there is no attempt whatsoever to  comprehend the extent  of  anger on the ground  and beneath it.  The people have heard appeals. But, on the ground, they have seen and experienced  the use of force.  This use of force as a means to  restore order has proved  of no use. It has resulted in more deaths, more protests and more alienation.  This is a   picture  of the security forces firing at the protestors that is coming out of the Valley. The scenes of  wailing women, mourners swelling the number of protestors and overflowing emotions have become a permanent scene in the Kashmir  Valley.
It may be attributed to any thing. But the fact of the mater is that instigation works to a point. There is a limit to it. Money makes the mare go. But thousands of people don’t fill the streets  because of  the currency howsoever valuable it may be. The denunciation  of individuals  may work, but there is no way  that character assassination of crowds and their sentiment would ever work.
A due respect  should be accorded to sentiment, and there should be demonstrative willingness  to make difficult compromises  in Kashmir. The political binds have  played havoc in the past. That should not be allowed to happen  in the  future. Who rules  and who doesn’t, who fills the gap at what place and who doesn’t, who  speaks what and what not,  and what would be the political consequences of a particular political action, majority or minority at the Centre, these considerations are secondary. The first task is to give a sense of belonging to the people. Respect them. Give them dignity that they deserve as human beings. Give them a  genuine feeling that they are as much respected as the citizens elsewhere.  India is not bad, Indians are not bad.  Let the chant of the successful 2008 Assembly elections be put behind. It has become obsolete, rather provocative. The way 1987 elections evoke images of cheated vote, the 2008  evokes the image of betrayal of promises. The voters have been let down. Don’t  let them down further. It’s  because  they don’t have anything to tell  to fellow Kashmiris who didn’t vote.
There was something which happened prior to 2008 elections. That part of the  history is being ignored.  For some, the 2008 Assembly elections might have been a new chapter, but  now  newer chapters have been written.
At the moment, there is a need for New Delhi to do some soul searching. Same should be done by the leaders of Kashmir as well. This,  irrespective of the fact,  where they  sit across the  political spectrum or what  ideology they pursue. The mainstream leaders have always hesitated in  honouring their own commitments. They  have indulged in fire  fighting. At the critical moments, these parties and their leaders have  been  seen sitting in Delhi or other parts. They  ridicule Delhi in their rhetoric. But at the same time seek  personal or political favours  from it.  Their complicity  in complicating the situation and muddling the direction is no longer possible, because they are spent forces in the  hearts and minds of new generation in Kashmir.
In the given situation in the Valley, any attempt to forbid discussion on any subject  could prove counter productive. It is  necessary that such discussions  should be held in open and not through  those  who have their agenda. It can form part of a process of untangling the complexity of  the modern Kashmir history. There should be a determined effort to reach a  generation for whom it matters what is being done and how. The generation  is  anxious to unpack the past.
Outsiders’ views of  Kashmir may also be changing, slowly.  The  view, that must be striking them, is, what’s troubling Kashmir and its people. Wherefrom the trouble starts, why there is a feeling of alienation, why it is growing with every passing day. Indian tax payer has the right to know that why his money is being invested  in maintaining  an order that is not acceptable to the people in the Valley.  These are points to ponder.   Indeed, there is a sentiment which transcends  everything at  times.. But should that  not be taken into consideration?
Prime Minister  Manmohan Singh has admitted that there is a problem lingering on  for the past 63 years. It is traveling down the generations. Why this problem should not be  addressed  with earnestness that it deserves.
Of course there are historical reasons why the perception of  Kashmir is the way it is.  The place has been viewed as a place where   people agitate every now and then. But that it also is a place of suffering. There is  no idea of it  outside of Kashmir.   Kashmiris love their land, their culture and dignity  and seek identity. They agitate for all this in different ways  That should be understood, and the pain felt, genuinely.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST