Government’s response is sordid but true! The slogans people shouting in the streets are bitter but true! The ongoing protests are raging unabated and do not seem to plunge any sooner. Stuck in a cocoon woven by its own ambitions the Governments both at the state and centre are still flirting with the idea of “they have it all under control”. One wonders why they are shy of accepting the truth which is unleashing itself on the streets of Kashmir and in the major parts of the world by every passing day. The astounding facts are fueling the engines of street protest. This vehicle is driven by young Kashmiris who, we all know were either born during the turmoil or were in a tender age when it all started. They are young, fierce and adamant, which leads to an unending vicious circle of Killings, protests and killings! The irony of the fact is that the Heads of all the major political forums are accepting the unprecedented situation and killings in Kashmir. However in the oblivion, the fact remains that whatever they accept and condemn does not fall in the contour of the reason and logic behind the current situation. They condemn the killings, they condemn the bad governance, they regret the force and oppression but they all shy away in accepting and acknowledging what every protestor—ranging from a child, men or a woman— is shouting. The ongoing protests have claimed over 65 lives and still counting.
It is ugly but it is true. The Kashmir imbroglio seems to have become the candy stuck in the Government of India’s throat which they can neither swallow nor spit. Since its inception, J&K has held a special status in the constitution of India yet the grievances in Kashmir are claimed to be due to many things except the one it is actually attached to. Given a chance some people would go back in history and obliterate the complete special status of J&K from its existence and, perhaps it seems these people do not realize that something which is promised to a nation cannot be denied in the course of time unless the nation acknowledges and accepts it. The change cannot be thrust upon whilst a democratic environment. It is time for the Governments to realize that by delaying a discussion on the basic demands of the Kashmiri people they cannot fade away the sentiments attached to it neither can it wipe out the cause itself! However it will keep this pot of unrest and chaos boiling and will keep on resurfacing at different times as proven by present and past turmoil.
The largest democracy in the world as it is acknowledged needs to make a move. A move which many people have been writing and talking about for the last so many days, but gets unnoticed
Why wait? Perhaps the wait is only proving right the Churchill’s expression on New Delhi wherein he stated, “They are in a straight paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent”. If this is not true then it is high time to make a resolute step towards the solution of the conflict.
On the contrary while going through the news of daily government business, it is surprisingly disgusting that the government business is portrayed to be done as usual and normal without caring about the chaotic environment around. The government of Jammu and Kashmir would be sooner counted amongst those African nations where people do not matter; but what matters is that “who has the biggest gun”! Which leaves them as winners? Otherwise in which part of the world would you put your own people under siege, children without education, businessmen without business, an aura of complete insecurity and oppression and then talk about “development,” “Packages and roads.” Why don’t they wake up and face the truth?
Almost everyone has come to know the unrest in Kashmir for the last two months and it is time to face it and start afresh. Nothing seems easy in the lost paradise; nothing is moved by the tempests we witness every day and God knows when people will realize that in times of tyranny, when the law oppresses the people, the outlaw takes his place in history! And that is where we are pushing these men of stones!

(Maajid Hayat is Administration Manager, ODASCO Kuwait Electrical and Contracting Company, State of Kuwait)

Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST