Every time the innocent blood spills over the roads Kashmir hogs the limelight. A closer look in to the subject exposes unsavory realities. In particular, it is the overarching loss of human security reinforced by the massive presence of forces and the laid-back attitude of New Delhi that keeps this conundrum up and running.

The question that persistently surfaces is: How long shall blood bathe the streets of Valley? There is no denying the fact that as long as troops stay in Kashmir the fake encounters like Pathribal, Michhil so on and so forth will persist without remorse or impunity. Probes and inquires initiated by successive governments did not hold ground in conflict zone. People of Kashmir have refused to be taken in by Political rhetoric.

Truly has it been said that if you do not learn from past you will repeat it. In 2008 more than sixty people were killed in the government’s effort to quell the protestors over Amarnath land transfer issue. In order to damp down the public outcry, government started unprecedented curfew wherein terror tactics both physical as well as psychological were resorted to. However, this time around government used the same strategy which just fueled the existing undercurrents of resentment among people.

Fifteen deaths of innocent civilians in a period of 21 days once again exposed India so ignominiously and so widely. What adds insult to injury are the acidic remarks of politicians at New Delhi who made every attempt to justify the killings. If biased statements of Indian politicians are to be analyzed it appears to be deliberate and systematic use of intimidation to cause fear and helplessness in the minds of the people of Kashmir.

Atrocities inflicted on Kashmiris by people from their own community are not new. There is a history of barbarism witnessed by innocent people being mauled by the dreaded policemen during the reign of different rulers. This was just to demonstrate allegiance to the supreme rulers in Delhi. A few more Kashmiris killed and a nod of approval would come accompanied with money.

The situation in present day Kashmir is no way  different wherein Police along with CRPF  have been given unbridled powers to let loose terror perhaps just to appease New Delhi that government is acting in the best interests of the security of nation.

Instead of admitting the guilt, state government pushed Kashmir further on the edge. It was supposed to show maturity in handling the whole crisis.

  They should have nabbed the culprits who killed Tufail and others at the very first moment. Former Director General CRPF, Mishra in a television interview on NDTV (24x7) stated that CRPF cannot take the action all alone, doctoring and strategy evolves from the government. So state cannot shrug off the responsibility that it owes to its community.

How can government expect young boys to calm down anger who witness a relative or fellow boy being beaten up or killed? Every child no matter how old he or she is, has grown up with mental stresses weighing upon them.

They have lost faith in every political party in Kashmir. Stone rage or the peaceful protestation is the spontaneous outburst of emotions, frustrations and grievance.

Further, a case in point is the sinister move of New Delhi that termed stone-throwing as a money minting business   orchestrated by people from across the border. Finding an easy scapegoat in Pakistan is not new for India. More so, even if these small elements of what they call “miscreants” exist at all, it is failure of government and Indian intelligence who has not dealt with them so far.

Whether stone pelters are driven by ideology or money, bullet –for- stone strategy is totally undemocratic and brutal way of sabotaging unarmed protestors. Imprisoning people inside home by clamping curfew and gagging the press is no longer solution to any problem. Kashmir issue will keep on simmering one way or the other unless and until root cause is addressed. There is need to scratch the surface and address the problems hidden underneath.

The situation in Kashmir since 1990 onwards has created many political actors/stake holders. The stake holders are from both sides: the pro Indian political parties, and those who want independence or implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir.

  State politicians are passing the buck blaming each other for generating fresh tumult in Kashmir. Veteran Politician of PDP, Muzaffar Beg candidly admitted the flaws within Political system. He amplified on national channel: “The actual blame lies with us. We have generated false hopes among people from time to time and then betrayed them,”

 People in Kashmir are now well versant with the petty politics of politicians and can no longer be taken for a ride. There is a common adage, “fool me once shame on me, fool me twice shame on you”.

Separatist groups must also understand ground facts and be open and honest as to where they will lead this movement to and what they think is possible for Kashmir resolution. They should come up with substantive and rational policy on Kashmir imbroglio.

 It is irrational to show impractical dreams to the younger generation and play with their lives. Kashmir has lost generations to bullets and at the end of day it is the tragic lost to only families of victims’. As goes the saying “One death is a tragedy and million is a statistic, “We should not see deaths as mere statistic. It is families who are stripped of their breadwinners; it is children who are orphaned and women widowed.

How long our people will inherit this conflict? Repercussions of violence are more horrendous. Increasing crime, suicide, drug addiction and trafficking, psychiatric diseases and the list go on endlessly. This is alarming.

Decades of suffering should be enough for every stake holders to raise the level of debate on Kashmir from petty partisan bickering to a rational joint effort that is ultimately beneficial for the people of Kashmir.

More seriously, there is need of political engagement of people from every fraternity. Be it politicians, activists, Journalists, academics or the younger generation and provide them democratic space to voice their concern. This approach can at least help in delivering a framework for a process to resolve the Kashmir Conflict in peaceful manner.

 As many political analysts have aptly pointed out that instead of looking at lost opportunities, it is time to take this crisis as an opportunity and resolve Kashmir issue once forever.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST