Every charge being made against the inefficiency of the Jammu and Kashmir government and the indifference and callousness of the central government was confirmed with the decision to send in the Army into Srinagar. The troops rolled into the state capital, sealing the anger and the hostility in the Valley
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Reluctant generals had no choice but to obey the political directive, although they privately fumed against the decision describing it as dangerous and short sighted. Strangely, the military seemed to have a better understanding of the situation and the consequences of this action than the politicians in authority.

The National Conference that now functions like an underground organization, remained underground with chief minister Omar Abdullah making panicky phone calls to New Delhi for help as he could not cope with his own people. As for senior Union Minister and president of the National Conference Farooq Abdullah, the less said the better. Trouble in the Valley has made him invisible.

Leaders lead from the front but unfortunately, for the people of Kashmir there are no leaders left to voice their sentiments, freely and fairly. The response of New Delhi has been predictable. Instead of advocating caution, the centre rushed to send in the troops despite army advice not to push them into the firing line at this stage. The ‘enemy’ is stone pelting youths, what can the army do at this stage was the view communicated to the political authorities. But it was decided nevertheless to send the troops in, but after doing so there was another panic attack. And some one in power directed the army in New Delhi to deny its presence in Srinagar through careful plants. So there was this situation where the army ‘sources’ in the national capital were denying flag marches in Kashmir, while the army officers in the state capital were spending more time than they wanted to in denying the New Delhi reports and insisting that the army had taken over Srinagar.

When this did not work, as obviously it could not, the politicians in their wisdom hit on another ruse. The army has been told to exercise restraint, was the new line. The army will maintain a distance from the people, was the official announcement. It made no sense to anyone, not even politicians who are now flapping around trying to get out of the mess they have all together created. The new plant that has appeared in the newspapers now is that the army is not going to be in Srinagar for long, and it will be moved out soon.

But there is something far more dangerous going on. And this is sinister and very disturbing. The government of India, with the support of the Jammu and Kashmir government, is now releasing dubious transcripts and tapes of alleged conversation between the angry young people of the Valley and terrorist groups, in a bid to prove that the protests were not spontaneous but organized. This is further alienating the people of the Valley as most know that the young people were acting on their own, and that these tapes being carried so willingly by the national media without counter are intended to justify brutal action against the stone pelters. The audio tapes are totally pathetic, and appear to have been put together by persons who have little idea about Kashmir. The Hindi words used in one of the exchanges are alien to the Valley, and are used only in mainland states of North India.

Even so these are being lapped up and promoted by the ignorant national media in its search for sensationalism ---of course always carefully tilted on the side of the establishment and not the people. Everyone knows that left unattended, the protests by the youth of Kashmir will be exploited by vested interests. And that instigators will move in to organize and give direction to what have been largely spontaneous protests till now. But the government is not saying that. It is trying to prove that the protests have been orchestrated, and organized by the terror groups. This is a complete travesty of the truth, and everyone in New Delhi and Srinagar knows it.

So why is this being done? For two reasons. One as pointed out earlier, to justify violence against the unarmed youth. To damn the Kashmiris and make them appear like a bunch of extremists. And two, to convince the rest of India which is the constituency of not just the Congress party but it seems even the National Conference that the government is acting in the best interests of the security of the nation. The media was gagged precisely to ensure that only disinformation was spread, and that the news from the streets of Kashmir was censored completely.

Instead of reaching out to the people, instead of speaking to the affected youth, instead of visiting the families whose young people were killed, instead of working out a strategy where the police and security forces did not come into confrontation with the youth, the Omar Abdullah government, aided and abetted by the Centre, has positioned itself against its own people. The chief minister should have called an all party meeting at the onset, after having visited each one of the invitees personally to make them agree. What is the point of a civilian consultation with the army on the streets? The PDP has refused as will probably all others groups from the Valley, as there is little point of a dialogue with a government that needs the army to keep itself in power.

The UPA government does not have a Kashmir policy. For the Congress governance has always been---at least for a long time now---a holding operation to keep itself and its favourites in power. Omar Abdullah is a favourite with the Nehru-Gandhi family that made sure that he, and not his father, became the chief minister. He is out of tune with his people, a fact that New Delhi is cashing in on. Home Minister P.Chidambaram does not intrinsically believe in the healing touch, and is always prepared to turn the gun on those who are seen as defiant of his government’s authority. This is not limited to Kashmir, but affects other states as well. Today journalists and others are being killed as Maoist sympathizers. Since when has sympathy become a crime in India that wanted to, and at least tried till a point, to be more compassionate in her democracy, than the new masters: US and Israel
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There is no strategy, no thought. Arrogant governments cannot bring solace to their people. They can only exacerbate conflict, and bring grief. As is happening today in Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST