Kashmiris are concerned over their political, religious and cultural identity and have hit the streets to protect Article 35 A, a provision in the Indian constitution that confers on them special rights and privileges. That there are certain discordant notes of sardonic nature should be taken in a stride. But the most important thing is that they should trust themselves and work for invoking trust among other residents of the State.
The point that needs to be reflected upon what sort of identity is being protected and in what form. The religious identity figures at the top. This identity of the Kashmiri Muslims is their devotion to their faith in the delectable climate that the Mother Nature has blessed them with. They are justified in fighting for its protection whether this identity has come to them through the political agreements or the much-trumpeted relationship of trust between their leaders and Delhi.
The human audacity tempts me to ask : is this identity only religious or it is a mix of their religion and ethnicity, or both. Kashmiri Pandit migrants who were part of the shared heritage, language, history and ethnicity of Kashmir Valley until 1990 when they had to flee their homes and hearths, not hitting the streets with them? It is an inconvenient truth. They, despite their displacement, are as much beneficiaries of the Article 35 A in owning the land,immovable property, jobs and scholarships as are the Kashmiri Muslims. The fact of the matter is that their geographical reach has been restricted.
There could be three possibilities for their being aloof to the whole unfolding scenario. One, they are watching it silently as to how the campaign against the legal challenge to the Article of special rights and privileges takes its course. Its success will keep their status unchanged. Second, they must be finding that the rest of the country is the land of far bigger opportunities than the Article 35 A can ever offer them within the state. Or, as victims of a situation in which they felt insecure in 1990s and left their homes and hearths, they find that the things have not changed for them at all even after the 30 years after their migration.
All the claims that they are in the core of Kashmiri ethos, and the Valley is incomplete without them have been reduced to rhetorical phrases. In reality there is a wall that stands in their way to return to the land of their ancestors.
A pleasing factor for Kashmiri Muslims is that there are fertile corners of support for them from their co-religionists living in the two other major regions of the State – Jammu and Ladakh. This religious affinity has bridged the ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences. This is a result of seeking sense of security against the backdrop of ugly incidents in states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where lynch mobs have had the field day. These ruffians operate with impunity. Worse, they are garlanded and rewarded by the men in political authority.
The others who have equal access to the rights under the Article 35 A have not spoken in its favour. They have their own apprehensions that their demographic and religious identity is under assault within the state. This is a view that cannot be dismissed as prejudiced. Jammu had been hosting all the distressed communities from in the Valley. It has shared its land and extended all the hospitality that it could to them. This fact cannot be erased by those engaged in rewriting the history as per their inherent prejudices. Kashmiri leadership has the responsibility to introspect and find out why are not all with them on the Article that benefits all.