A renewed understanding of Kashmir is an urgent necessity as a contest has unfolded whether the Vale is trying to retain its reputation as paradise on earth or one of the major hotspots of the world. This contest is consuming lives that of the real human beings and leaving the landscape tilting toward greater conflict leaving the people in a nowhere zone.
What else one could make out of the killing of four policemen in Shopian within few hours of the killing of Altaf Ahmad Dar and another associate in a gun fight in Anantnag . Six people were killed – all of them Kashmiris . And what emerged out of it , two contrasting images – thousands attending the funeral of Altaf Dar, militant in whose funeral 22 of his compatriots offered gun salutes , and on the other side were the wailing family members, including aged father, mourning the death of their sons who were in police. But their original identity was Kashmiri for which the whole of Kashmir remained shut to protect Article 35-A , a guarantor of their distinct identity of the land and its original inhabitants. The property and the jobs will make sense only if the Valley vibrates with life of its own.
The conflict for the political aspirations has its logic with which many may agree or disagree depending on their outlook . There is bigger risk involved that Kashmir’s definition would be known to the world the way the world capitals would like to script. Sanctity of the lives and the land is important as long as there is a culture of saving one another . There is no substitute to this .
The protection of Article 35-A is a new anthem seeking to protect the land from assumed aggressors. The issue is connected to the place for which all kinds of “sacrifices “are being made. The commoners have shut their businesses, kids have remained off schools and vendors have stayed back in their homes. This is not a result of the call by one group or the other. It is the inner voice that is manifesting itself in the ” sacrifices” for Kashmir and its unique identity and dignity.
All this effort gets undermined when the violence spells death on the streets , whether these are the smoldering houses , shattered buildings or the premises of the police pickets . The killings and abductions have become a common place , and there is a wonderment as to whose cause is being served by this new phase of violence in which Kashmir ‘s soul is dying with every passing moment .
Trauma of Kashmiris is manifold. Why increase it further? This question should be asked again and again before an answer is found. The essence of the whole thing is that the Kashmir should retain its dignity and identity and live life King size , whether in the school uniform, police uniform or the simple pheran or any other category of the people. All are Kashmiris that is what should matter to them all . The inner fissures that help others to exploit the weaknesses of own making .
It is good that the better sense prevailed over the militants who set free the relatives of the policemen. The main consideration was the ethnic and religious affinity, but at the same time what needs to be pondered , why did this situation arise in which the neighbourhood came face to face with neighbourhood . The videos were circulated to underline the respective viewpoints . If those videos that went viral on social media, whether that of the appeal of the families who requested the captors to release their near and dear ones or that of the captives urging the police not to harass the families of the militants. The families should be kept out of this conflict, though they have become part of the narrative that harms Kashmir.
The revenge can narrow down to the next door and once it begins there will be no end to it. Kashmir society is well knit . It had shown its strength in the testing times when the devastating floods had hit Kashmir in September 2014 . The neighbours, neighbourhood and the localities – adjacent or distant- had come to each other’s rescue. That was the spirit that showed that how Kashmiris are united and ready to face the odds in the adversity . Floods were a natural disaster. Kashmir should be wary and cautious about the consequences of the man made disaster.