I write this article partly in response to the column of Ajaz-ul-Haque “Thou Shall Kill” (Write Hand)  the essence of which if I understand it well, is that there is a contradiction between what the Holy books teach us and the unholy statement of B S Jaswal that “AFPSA is a Holy act” for the men in uniform in Kashmir region.  I understand the concern and intent of Ajaz Sahib that the Holy books, regardless of the religion we belong to, do not give us license to kill people indiscriminately as all the Holy books maintain that “killing of an innocent is the killing of the whole humanity”.  However, I look at it from a different perspective and that is of Machiavelli’s The Prince. I am sure that it is this book which influenced Jaswal and his ilk. This book is a treatise for the guidance of the rulers or princes and it teaches them how to rule either by hook or crook.  The idea of the whole book is that princes should employ any means – fair or foul - for what they call a `larger national interest'. Blinded by power, India tries to bully Kashmir.

  As is well known to readers that the book written by Machiavelli brings about the separation between the Church and the State and thus lays the foundation of different set of relative ethics or virtues for the best interests of the state which are different from the Absolute ethics of the Holy Scriptures.  The book expresses the ideas of blunt political Darvinianism and the terrifying portrayals of the rulers. Machiavelli today is known to us as the devil, ‘the murderous Machiavelli, a teacher of evil and his name has become the synonymous with cunning and deceit.  One of the things that the princes and military men must note is that it is good to appear merciful, truthful, humane, sincere and religious but these things are harmful if practised. It stands true to almost all our rulers also and Jaswal and all the men in uniform put to practice the Machiavellian commandment. They pretend to be merciful, truthful and all that but in practice they harbour evil designs and  the outcome is the frequent cold blooded  killings, fake encounters, rapes and on the top of it, the criminal silence observed by the rulers who claim to be just, sincere and honest.  The other day the CM of J&K paid a visit to Kheer Bhawani and assured the Kashmiri pandits that they will be provided with all the safety when they come back.  We heartily welcome them back because that is what Kashmiriyat stands for and all Kashmiris have proved it practically even when the situation was not favourable.  For example, The house in which I and my family members live is simultaneously inhabited by Kashmiris pandits since 1960s and we have seen all the tough times together and are just like family members. What I am trying to say is that the safety that government claims to provide is a myth as it has failed to provide safety to us and nobody is safe here as long as troops enjoy unbridled powers which have been bestowed upon them by the central government. Thus the book which lets them kill is the unholy book of Machiavelli which they have learnt by heart and are following that to the totality. Thus we must not be surprised by the statement of Jaswal as there is a network and agency behind all the atrocities, injustices and oppressions that they have subjected Kashmiris to. But the contemporary rulers of India lack the sense of history for they fail to realize that the powerful rulers like the Romans, the Mughals and the British ruled the roost for some time and then finally were doomed. This is in store for India also if they fail to take concrete and constructive steps for the resolution of Kashmir issue, revocation of unholy AFPSA and demilitarisation. The dilly dallying policy has always been harmful for even great nations for a spark neglected burns the house.

(Dr Tasleem Ahmad War is Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Kashmir)

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