The alleged abduction and rape of a 25-year-old girl Rukaya Bano has evoked anger and condemnation. And expectedly so. Kashmir has had many such incidents in the past and every time, the event is followed by a public rage. As Shopian continues to shroud in mystery, will Kulgam follow?
The first challenge for all political groups is to depoliticize the very nature of crime. If chief minister promises to unmask criminals, if Army assures of cooperation, the possibility of getting the case solved appears to be brighter. Yes `appears' only as people have reasons enough to see beyond the appearance. If past is taken as a reference, present can't be taken seriously anymore. Rarely can there be an example of retribution which could have minimized, if not prevented, such things from happening. The oppressive ways of the state to bludgeon people to silence breeds trouble. You can't restore law by violating law, impose order by disturbing order. The heat of the previous summer refuses to die down as wounds are still fresh. When it takes 120 lives to bring the whole situation back on rails, fingers can be raised against you. When stone pelters are followed even after the dust settles what about those accused of killing innocents. If trouble-makers could be cajoled by a carrot, threatened by a stick, why spare a man in uniform? Whatever the explanations offered, government has to be in the dock to face questions from their people. Omar Abdullah's tweet that like many others he doesn't have the luxury of `jumping to the conclusion' makes sense. Expedient politics apart, no sane mind would expect him to `jump' to the conclusion without addressing the legality of the case. But it needs more to convince people. Investigative agencies normally strike with an incredible precision when it comes to unearthing facts, why don't we see the same swiftness here? Agreed, jumping to justice will again amount to injustice. That is why in Shopian case too state administration demanded all the time in the world to approach the matter alongwith its nuances and subtleties. But the way it was concluded raised more questions than it tried to answer. Despite formally winding up the whole file, they have not been able to lay doubts and speculations to rest.
On the other side, our separatist politics feeds on the excitement caused by such tragedies. Whatever the story and whoever the actors behind, they can't help but conclude everything their own way. Sure they have a right to voice their concern, but they want a result of their own choice. Their focus is less on unearthing the crime, more on exposing the criminals which they think are the criminals. They keep trotting out the same rabble- rousing statements of `using rape as a war weapon' and `desecrating the honour of our sisters, daughters and mothers' to add beef to their words. As a consequence what we face is a dangerous brew of state terror and public disorder.
These extreme positions held by two extreme groups botch the whole thing up. If Kulgam has to be a different story, it needs change of attitude on both the sides. The opposition doesn't have to trade on the situation, and government doesn't have to craft excuses to ensure their escape. No need `jumping' if it misleads. Do a crawl if that gets you to the bottom of the story.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST