All Muslim passengers from Kashmir wishing to board flights home are informed that the Hindu Airport at Srinagar would remain closed for almost two weeks as the runway has to undergo repairs; inconvenience, not at all regretted.
Even when communalism is as despicable a thing as evil itself, this is how compellingly things travel in the context of Kashmir. Unfortunately, and with tragic foreboding, the spaces of political control are increasingly getting articulated in terms of the binary catagorisation; Hindu-Muslim. Like the Dogra Rule before 1947, the Indian Rule after 1947 chose to operate politics in Kashmir through communal apparatus.
The day announcement about the closure of Srinagar Airport for the first two weeks of September was made it came as a pointed thrust for Kashmir because Eid falls in this strip of time. Kashmiri families outside State and India usually celebrate Eid home and thus almost all of them return back on this occasion. Even the students and businessmen travel back to have this occasion celebrated with family and friends in Kashmir. It was a moment of acute discomfort for those living outside and their dear ones back home. Everybody was up with a question; could it not be deferred for some time so that the occasion of Eid was spared. Then there was another question; does it really take twelve long days to repair a runway. Up ahead; runway repairs must be done elsewhere too, but how the uninterrupted air traffic was managed there. Not just this, minds looked towards rear asking if Yatra could be allowed to finish first and announcement made then, is Eid less of an occasion than Yatra. Is Hindu privileged over Muslim! It was the natural flow of anxious interjections while the announcement was being heard carefully by the Kashmiris.
As a risible break the Chief Minister of this State put his foot down telling his people that he is here to rescue them. But sooner than yesterday he, along with his foot, flinched back to rescue himself only. Finally, it was Saif-ud-Din Soz who flung his arm towards the door that was just about to sound shut. His hand was spared a degree of respect, because after all it was hand. Though he appeared in the local press as having finally clinched it in favour of Kashmir by getting the runway repairs deferred but he was soon corrected that his station may be near, but definitely not inside the Airport. When it comes to the finality of matters he too is an outsider. As a favour to Kashmir, Avantipora Army base was made available for the air operations for the days till the runway is repaired. How ironic that in Kashmir the alternative to Army is Army.  You can be either with them or with them. The mathematics of Indian control in Kashmir is so maddening that no matter how much you put in or draw out, it always comes to zero. Zero for Omar Abdullah. Zero for Saif-ud-Din Soz. Zero for Agnivesh and Karat too. 
Back to Airport. Just a year or two past, when the Airport terminal was being upgraded there was a controversy about its name. When people were expecting it to be named as Sheikh-ul-Aalm Airport, the signboard read –Srinagar Airport. Then followed the usual volley of statements from million different direction; that it is done by this committee, decision is taken by that body, control lies with a third structure, matters are finally looked into by still some other – thank God we are yet to hear that there is some celestial authority that puts the last signature on matters related to Kashmir. Nevertheless it is as bewildering as it could be after the celestial inclusion. But for them it is as light as a Tulip cup, they can name it Indira Gandhi Memorial Garden when it already has a name – Siraj Bagh. Jise Zaiba Kahain Azad Bandai Hai wahi Zaiba!
Then there is another recent memory with this Airport. The ‘champion’ of Kashmiriyat, (Champaign of Kashmiriyat!) his Excellency Ex-Governor of J&K, Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha, PVSM, had an old fried in uniform, Major Som Nath Shrama. Both came to Kashmir as part of Indian Army columns flown in to do what they were flown in to do. Som paid with his life defending Airport from his enemy. Sinha lived to become the Governor of the State. When this new terminal at the Airport was coming up, Sinha, who while in Kashmir could only think either Army or Amarnath, ‘persuaded ministry of civil aviation to make a small plot available to the army to put up a suitable bronze statue of Som, to remind everyone that his friend saved the airfield with his life. But for all the Kashmiris visiting Airport it is a chilling reminder of a day when Kashmiri was struck absent from Kashmir. From that day onwards Kashmiri has been running away because runway is no more his. May be in some degree, since it belongs to Civil Aviation, the façade belongs to people; but the land that makes an Airport belongs absolutely to Air Force.
One wonders had French revolutionaries been alive what would they do with this Airport. Pull it down! One wonders if Gandhi of masses would find a chance to reclaim the space for the people that it belongs to, what would he do. With a sparse body and a formidable influence he would call for a march. Airport Chalo. Immense misfortune of history that Gandhi’s relation to Kashmir was a great mismatch to his image as a man of masses; as a man of non-violence. Still, if alive, he would stand for the civil rather than the military that got a nod from him in Oct 1947. this would be the time for him to expiate his act.
Tailpiece: Dear Shahid, if you can’t wake up, take a turn in your grave, your country is not just without post-office, Airport too is gone. Even when it is, it is an Indian Air Force enterprise. ‘We cannot ask them: Are you done with the World’. Done with Kashmir!

(Feedback at mrvaid@greaterkashmir.com)

Lastupdate on : Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 1 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST