''The baton of the freedom struggle has now been passed on to the next generation who by sacrificing their precious lives have reinforced the universally accepted fact that it might be possible to annihilate the body by killing it but no power on earth can subjugate the yearnings of a nation for freedom into submission,'' Mirwaiz said in a statement last week to give his take on the prevailing Kashmir situation. The situation has been interpreted differently by the mainstream parties. While ruling National Conference says the unrest goes beyond governance and is rooted into the lingering political stalemate over the state, PDP squarely blames the government for the mess. Some opinion in New Delhi and a section of national media sees the things here generally as a result of the instigation by the separatists and Pakistan.

As for solution to this extra-ordinary situation is concerned, there is a predominant clamour for a political initiative. There is by and large a consensus on the resumption of dialogue between separatists and the centre. Some mainstream parties also want implementation of the recommendations of the Prime Minister's  Working Groups on Kashmir to put the situation in Kashmir on the road to recovery. But do these various ways of looking at the situation reflect the intrinsic truth of Kashmir. And by the way what is this intrinsic truth about kashmir? Do we refuse to acknowledge it or has it become too elusive for us to catch hold of?

One fact that stands out for the past 20 years is that mainstream parties might control levers of power, separatists rule the streets. This is why while separatists get away with calendar-ful of hartals, mainstream parties shy away from even calling for one. And this is why while mainstream parties are tied to their electorates by a bond that is mostly utilitarian in nature, separatists can count on large spontaneous crowds for their programs. Of course, there are phases when this reality gets a little more complex. In the absence of a sensational event, separatists do struggle to get the crowds, even while they can still shut Valley down on a random strike call. This fact leads many to believe that  if Government could only have  prevented killings of teenagers, a hartal or two accompanied by protests would have gradually given way to normalcy. But government interfered with this logic by presiding over a series of deaths which whipped up a raw public  anger.

However, this logic does apply even now. That is, if government learns to live with the protests, which it itself acknowledges transcend its own existence. Their reserviour is the long poisoned spring of the state's politics. A politics that has betrayed the people of the Valley right from the day one. A politics that is rooted more into an accumulated vested interest, patronage and sponsorship from New Delhi and less in the aspirations of the people. This handicap deprives any state government of the credibility and confidence to connect with the people. This is why while Mirwaiz can enter downtown city and hold a rally in the prevailing crisis, no mainstream leader will be able to do this.

So, could state government have handled the ongoing crisis differently? Yes, it could have. And for that to happen it would need to have a more nuanced understanding of Kashmir situation. New phenomenon of Kashmir unrest has its own peculiar nature, its own distinct rhythm and of course rise and fall. Calling in the army has introduced, so to say, an extraneous factor in the situation. Army doesn’t fit in the framework. While according to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah  it may have helped send the tough message to the protesters,  it has also betrayed to the youth that their protests alone can really raise the stakes and force an unprecedented change in the security bandobast.  And in a sense, it is a loud acknowledgement of the success of the ongoing agitation.  And in a place where a heightened 24X7 security has become a habit army will not make much difference to the ground reality.  One would also need to accept the fact that while events might have played a part in unleashing anger on the streets, the  reality is that protests in Kashmir are not necessarily driven by the events. As the cycle of protests over the past three years would have us believe, they don’t need an immediate cause to start. They have become a perennial fact of life emanating from the sources of anger that are of subliminal nature. That is, they come from a rationale that is deeply lodged in the hearts and minds of people. And this rationale is the endemic sense that Kashmir is a hopeless place for its people unless the long-standing dispute over the state is resolved. There is also an entire gamut of the political treachery of all sorts that over the years has nurtured the situation as we see it today.

Looking back at the genesis of the current turmoil in the state, there is hardly any credible explanation of its beginning in the first place. Did separatists really instigate them? Of course, they would like the protests like these to go on to fulfill their long term political objective of Azadi from India. And both Hurriyat factions have always made painstaking efforts to mobilize people for this cause. But the fact remains that both Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have unavailingly tried to dissuade youth from stone throwing and their protest calendars have come and gone, many times without generating a big public response.

Taking all these facts on board, the problem in Kashmir appears essentially three dimensional. One, an endemic separatist sentiment in Valley which goes through its dormant and dynamic phases. Second, the separatist leadership, comprising Hurriyat factions and some groups operating outside their fold who generally serve as symbolic representatives of the sentiment on the ground. And third, the mainstream establishment which comprises central and state government, political parties and of course their electoral support base. There is an inherent disconnect among the three, the apparent perception of an umbilical relationship or even some occasional overlap notwithstanding.

So the best that a state government can do to help the ground situation under the circumstances  is through an adhoc mechanism of better mob control. That is, before we get an overarching political  settlement for Kashmir in some distant future.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST