If there is
anything that keeps India and Pakistan in the news in the international media,
it is the hasty statements each country continues to make against each other.
The recent comments are that Pakistan is continuing a proxy war in Kashmir and
that Pakistan will not continue talks without the Kashmir agenda.
The recent
cancellation of secretary level talks provided yet another political storm
between India and Pakistan and simultaneously another controversy in Kashmir
witnessed another development yesterday when Pakistan denied any talks with
India without Kashmir on the agenda.
After India
cancelled the talks, Pakistan justified its stand and treated the separatist
brigade as equal stakeholders, however India criticized such a stand and
advised Pakistan of either choosing the side of the separatists or the
Government of India. While separatists argue that the Kashmir issue has never
been an internal matter of India, yet another political uprising has started
when Pakistan ruled out any dialogue with India sans Kashmir talks.
Currently there
are hardly any political leaders who enjoy the full credibility among general
masses in the conflict ridden Kashmir Valley, yet the people in general want
talks between two nuclear states for the sake of peace. People understand
the reluctance of both the states against or for talks on Kashmir as
ego-politics and perceive it as a power game of India and Pakistan.
While the
mainstream brigade is highly criticized for their hollow cries and no practical
role in the Kashmir solution, so far, the separatist camps are also not
eulogized much by a significant section of society on the issues of their
(separatists) internal divisions and lack of unity.
The fact remains
that the separatists have always been close to the Pakistani governments, which
has not been appreciated by the Indian State. It may not be wrong to say that
Pakistan has been organizing such diplomatic events so unprofessionally and as
per analysts, never stopped its instrument of terror policy against her
neighbors. Back home, people also feel confused when Hurriyat elements readily
subscribe to Pakistan’s irresponsible statements on Kashmir without even
considering their own stand on Kashmir like the recent one by Pakistan Army
Chief that Kashmir is its jugular vein and later the awkward justification by
Pakistan PM’s advisor that the statement was in response to India’s statements
on Kashmir (as its integral part) during its election speeches.
Conscious people
in Kashmir ask the fundamental question. Their hopeless urging is, who are we
the Kashmiris in this whole political game when the Indian government does not
recognize any of our leaders for talks? Do we count anywhere in the whole
Kashmir dispute, they ask? Does our opinion matter really as people of Kashmir,
as this is our issue and we should have the discretion to explain our position
at any such diplomatic plate form? They also maintain that the two nations play
their politics of rivalry and settle scores with each other via a war of words,
but who actually cares about the suffering of Kashmiris who are dying every day
unaccounted for amid the mockery of probes and reports? Also it is being argued
by masses that what makes our separatist brigade unwelcome for talks and why is
there a flow of unreasonable statements both by Pakistan and the center? Why do
the so-called leaders change their stance so briskly and get swayed by Pakistan
statements? Why is there a so unreasonable bias for Pakistan’s unprofessional
diplomacy and perpetual claims on Kashmir? And if Pakistan really loves
Kashmir, why do they target civilian areas on the line of control (LoC) which
continues even today and thousands of people have left their homes from the
Indian side of the border.
Sociologically
speaking, a shift is being witnessed in political aspirations in Kashmir. While
Pakistan is eager to increase its stance on the Kashmir issue, the so-called
stake holders in Kashmir want to cash in on every such hasty opportunity.
However, the government at the center, which has been maintaining that the
Kashmir issue will be resolved under the ambit of humanity, seems irritated by
such developments and treats such steps of Pakistan merely as an interference.
Actually peace
building should have been the priority of all such stake holders, but the
problem is that they see peace building efforts as a non-political activity.
The worst is witnessed today as the already little manufactured peace in the
Valley has not been institutionalized and with the result that the mass anger
instead of decreasing has witnessed an upward trend. But on the same note,
rural politics and rural political aspirations — a significant chapter of
Kashmir politics — has undergone a drastic and confusing shift, i.e. a minor
chunk still clings to freedom sentiment, while the majority has embraced the
local mainstream politics and some of them are even active in political
campaigning and active participation, etc, (still the sentiment never dies
down).
Some of the
sensitive rural belts have not been effectively tackled and the credit goes to
a lack of vision and sloth-ridden strategies of the state. Either sensitivity
has been treated by staying away from the people with no reaching out to young
minds who live in their own fantasy world, or the maps of vulnerability have
not been drawn at all to see through and scan the deteriorating parts.
What
one could infer from these grass root observations is that a fatigue has been
developed by the masses who have listened to and followed everything until the
recent past. Most of the people want to live in peace and a secure atmosphere,
however that very peace bade goodbye to the blissful Valley before 1989 — and
is yet to return due to never ceasing political storms and continued
vulnerabilities. The public anger, and counter anger, and hatred has grown
among the communities, people treat others as rivals even when sometimes the
rivals are not known personally. Space for others and other ideologies has gone
to the dogs and everyone wants his school of thought to prevail. Now a majority
of angry young men argue that who-so-ever is in any sort of politics in Kashmir
is a traitor of the nation Kashmir. They are not happy with the government,
opposition or the separatists, but hopeless with the status quo. An
alarming disconnect of the power elite is witnessed and this inability to
connect makes people say that they have been voting now for decades for these
political parties who tell them every time that Kashmir issue is going to be
solved. And as the failures of talks or round tables continue, a deep pessimism
strengthens among the youth mindset that actually makes them feel the violence
as justified. They also say that they don’t know the politicians or other
brigades personally, reflecting lack of reaching out by the so-called leaders
of the Valley. People also ask, “Have they ever tried to know about our woes?
Never ”.
After meeting the
common masses in my area recently I picked up some clues of Kashmir’s politics
of uncertainty. People have been giving extra Importance to personalities and a
personality cult politics has emerged that has sent rationality to the gallows.
The significant importance has been vested in some few individuals purely for
personal interests otherwise their (the local leaders) idea of Kashmir is a
disaster. People talk much about the need for effective leadership without
knowing that effective leadership needs inclusive ideas of peace and development.
We in Kashmir haven’t seen both. People talk of handling things better in
Kashmir and are firm in the idea that things have never been handled in Kashmir
politics, but instead the reverse has been happening. The accuracy at handling
violence in Kashmir has been lessening as we go along. People talk of the
conspiracies, of manufacturing dissent and consent in Kashmir historically,
without even knowing that the very idea they cling to is also manufactured
through excessive political socialization and decades of indoctrination. While
observing this, my conjecture proved to be a reality, where there is instead of
a right to cast a vote to leadership, everything is artificially manufactured
and the consent of unknown is sought from masses.
Last Word
Pakistan’s
tantrums and hasty steps hardly benefit Kashmir. There is a need to understand
the Kashmir issue in a different way without displaying big brotherly attitude
from either side, which US calls the historical mistrust between the two
states.
The
continuous tumultuous situations, the perpetual leadership crisis in Kashmir, status
quo on Kashmir talks, and continuous human rights abuses and killing
sprees have left the Valley masses literally confused about the future. Such a
pathetic situation has to be considered while inviting any stakeholder for
talks — and talks have to be effective for the sake of humanity now as the
Kashmir issue so far has witnessed hundreds of ineffective round tables and
failed negotiations. Endangered peace has taken away the feeling of a secure
psyche of bemused masses as even criminals murder the masses under the garb of
unknown gunmen besides a plethora of public issues in the absence of a peoples’
government at the moment. Even the government formation in Kashmir is a victim
of ego clashes leaving the people to suffer — and who have been suffering now
for decades and never yet seen a leader who could heal their wounds.
Adfar Shah (Adfer
Rashid Shah, PhD) is a New Delhi-based Kashmiri Sociologist and well-known
social analyst and columnist at various reputed media groups. Adfar Shah has
written sixty academic publications besides hundreds of conceptual articles. He
has been writing on South Asia's socio-political realities at Eurasia Review
since 2012, where he is Special Correspondent for South Asia Affairs.
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