If we have learnt our lessons  from the past, we should not be falling into the trap of the forces  trying to stoke  regional and religious confrontation on one issue or  the other. It is  a fact that the people outside Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Kashmir Valley,  have limited knowledge of the  things here. Hence, when anything goes  wrong, they blame  some  elements within  the state, without owning their own flawed approach  and attitude.  Sometimes, it is shocking that the people who claim to be working toward the resolution of Kashmir crisis are  busy in attempting stoking  new  troubles  in the Valley. They throw ball in the court of the people of Kashmir  and then want  them to play it  to their designs. Something like that is happening now, and it is appearing on the horizon.  The vested interests have started picking up one issue  after another  to trigger a situation that would only bring bad name to the image of the Valley. The image sullied over the decades  is getting repaired  with the arrival of tourists  and pilgrims from all over the country. Their numbers have passed all  previous records.
In 2012, Kashmir  has undergone a revolutionary transformation. The  events were dramatic, going by  what the people of Kashmir had seen  in the past over two decades. Peace assumes  a dramatic connotation in the world of the turmoil. Many  think that it is the disturbance  that  brings in the drama, but the fact is that peace  is  the biggest drama. Very few  believe that violence and bloodshed brings drama , forgetting that peace  has its own taste of drama which has appeal for the majority of the people.  The kind of peace that has so far  foiled  these attempts of creating disturbance  within the Valley, is still in its infancy. It must grow, and it should be allowed to grow to  its full youth  so that the generations  don’t blame this generation for having failed in  its duty to get them something substantial.
It  is  sad that even when the  people are struggling to come out of the dark shadows and looked forward to a new future, which would  meet their political  and economic aspirations,  attempts are being  made to pull them back to days of darkness, where children would not know the meaning of childhood and the youth would become old  wondering what lies ahead.  But   2011 and 2012 has changed the narrative. This transformation that has been seen by the world  and acknowledged as well, doesn’t go well with those forces who  have no idea   as to how the things work in the Valley.
The Valley is not just a beautiful piece of  land, where mountains  rush to  heights to  touch sky. It is much more than that.  Its soul is rich with  its time-tested traditions  where folks  love to love each other as humans,  and they treat their visitors with amazing level  of  hospitality, still  when they ask for something that is interpreted, rather misinterpreted in a twisted form.  There is  a dire need that the well wishers of Kashmir and Kashmiris  should step in and analyse things in proper perspective so that  Kashmir is the gainer and not the ones who want to  damage the  image of the Valley.
On this occasion, there is a need  to  bring a new paradigm in the strategic thinking, whereby   bringing  a new strategic  paradigm  that reverses  22 years  of negative thinking that is peppered  in the minds of the outsiders, who ask ten questions before booking themselves  for destination Kashmir. They tend to ignore the fact that more than a million tourists and another more than half a million Amarnath pilgrims  have visited the place and returned home with fond memories- that some of them were fleeced is  a different tale that happens at most of the tourist places. Those who fleeced  symbolize uncertainty that lies in their mind. They don’t know what would happen next. They need to be assured that the forces of peace and resolution of Kashmir crisis through dialogue are far more strong than the vested interests.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST