Political Diary
New
Delhi, 19 June 2018
Kashmir:
Elusive Peace
WHERE
IS THE POLITICAL WILL?
By
Poonam I Kaushish
The travails of picturesque Kashmir continue.
Political India is in the midst of loud cantankerous cackle on Kashmir. All
busy dissecting, debating and deliberating on the ceasefire and elusive calm in
the Valley amidst rising anger, notwithstanding the ‘visible’ signs of
normalcy. Which at best of times, mean the absence of ‘abnormalcy’, as fragile status quo translates to a state of no
war, no peace!
Over two months 65 militants deaths in
Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts, 28 security personnel and 78
Pakistan violations along the LoC, despite the one month long unilateral
ceasefire during Ramzan declared by the Centre, the dance of death and destruction continues unabated. With
both the Centre and State using the olive branch-coercion-curfew paradigm to
quell incidents of stone pelting, intermittent bloodshed and killings.
In fact, the recent violence once again
highlights the Centre’s inability or should one say myopic limitations of total
dependence on force to deal with the Kashmiris sense of alienation. From the
security point of view, this is a big success but the bad news is that ground
reports suggest local youth are still joining the militant ranks. Of course,
one cannot expect miracles overnight as the K problem was not created in a day
and nor will it end by applying populist balm to extract an extra mile, no
matter if it creates more problems than it solves!
Undeniably, permanent peace remains a distant
dream for the people of beleaguered Jammu and Kashmir, raising a moot point:
Can the olive branch of ceasefire address the sense of alienation? Can the
Government muster the political will of taking hard decisions? Does it have any
long term plan to deal with the situation? Can it tackle the emotional
outburst? Put a rest to the pro-Azadi
slogans?
No, not in today’s scenario.
Sadly New Delhi has treated Kashmir as a
problem of real estate and experimented with various permutations and
combinations by wielding the big stick against trigger-happy militants and
stone pelters. In the hope that its policy of more of the same, more Rashtriya
Rifles, more BSF, CRPF, money and material would somehow yield dividends. However,
little effort is being made to see whether the policy is getting us anywhere.
We can keep the land. But, importantly, how
are we going to keep the people? Prevent innocents caught in this conflict from
being killed? The crux of the issue is that while not a few Kashmiri seeks
exclusion from the Indian State, New Delhi believes in inclusion leading to
violence.
Remember, Kashmir is not a law and order
problem of a few miscreants holding the population to ransom through terror.
Nor is it merely a territorial dispute with Pakistan that can be resolved by
enforcing draconian laws. Essentially, the problem is political and mainly of a
people who feel estranged from the Administration.
No effort is made to instill a sense of
security among the people. Alongside, the money meant for public development
finds its way into private pockets and the material is used for individual
betterment. A vicious circle resulting in disillusionment. Worse, New Delhi and
Srinagar continue to take knee-jerk
actions instead of learning the art of firm management and containment.
Alas, Kashmir’s awaaz gets lost in the din of our netas rhetorical speeches. Prospects of peace have been marred by
mutual mistrust by mainstream and separatist politicians. Till both
realize and acknowledge each others’ role in State
policy, a consensus on peace and the way forward will continue to elude us.
New Delhi would be foolish not to realize
that economics is no guarantor of peace or to win people’s hearts. Till a
political solution is found, there is no hope in hell for a return to normalcy
as deep distrust runs through the complex strands of the Kashmir imbroglio.
What next? True, the ceasefire has put
trouble mongers on the back foot as they are finding it difficult to create an
anti-India hype and attract more youths to its fold. Whether the peace tune
plays out or not, a start of a political process is desirable which cannot take
off without preparing a political-socio-economic pitch. As it stands whether the
“return” efforts to misguided youth and amnesty for stone pelters succeeds in
motivating them to shun violence and lead a normal life, needs to be watched.
With Kashmir in its present flux, the Centre
and State have to walk a tight-rope. The State Government and politicians have
to stop passing the buck to the Centre and take responsibility for their
actions. By continuously blaming New Delhi for all that is wrong in the State
the polity is only harming the people, a fruitless exercise.
High time all concerned address the “trust
and Government deficit” in the Valley. Indeed, the deficit is so enormous that innumerable
measures seem to be negated even before they can be initiated or have little
impact on the ground in normalising the situation.
Simultaneously, the Centre and Hurriyat need to
walk the talk which should be without any pre-condition, albeit talks only
within the ambit of Indian Constitution or solely on independence. Both need to
win back confidence. This is the only way to bring a lasting solution to
Kashmir as imposing conditions has stalled chances of peace for over three
decades.
Asserted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, “There
is overall improvement in the law and order … there is no problem in any
dialogue with Pakistan but it has to stop promoting terrorism first.’’ Certainly,
he addressed the internal and external dimension of the ‘K’ dispute by reaching
out to Islamabad and separatists. The question however remains: Is the reach
enough to be productive?
The Centre needs to think out-of-the-box, a
fresh approach and embark on a new track of a concrete hard-nosed comprehensive
long-term policy. Less of political romanticism and more of practical
calculations. The sooner we realise this, the easier it will be for finding a
panacea to the Kashmir imbroglio.
Simultaneously, wounds need healing as promises
by successive Governments offering peace remain unfulfilled and the only hope
these people have is hoping for the impossible. Granted, one cannot expect
dramatic success overnight. Also, granted
that winning the minds and heart of the people is not easy.
The need of the hour is imagination,
innovation and impetus. Remember, Kashmir is not a place where destiny seems to
shadow events like a madman with a razor in his hand. Nor is it a toy to be
frittered, twisted, discarded or dumped. It is a national issue, which
transcends political planks, ideology, philosophy and thesis.
New Delhi has to leave no ‘stone’ unturned to
further its national interests and make Kashmiris’ truly feel they belong to
India. The Kashmiris’ too need to rise to the occasion. The Prime Minister needs
to take the leap of faith and connect with Kashmiris. The question NaMo needs
to answer: Does he have the political will to cut through the welter of vested
interests that arrest purposeful action? Ultimately, since wars begin in the
minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defence of peace must be
constructed. -------- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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