Binoo Joshi
Analysis
Does any one know what is happening in this part of Jammu and Kashmir and how to approach and address the problem here? Perhaps not. In the eyes of Pakistan and rest of India, Kashmir is a landmass inhabited by people who have pure fidelity toward Pakistan , or they are agents of Pakistan trying to destablise the Indian values of democracy and secularism . The state has been made the battleground.
The whole of Jammu and Kashmir is troubled by what is happening in the state . An extraordinary focus is on the street protests and the counter-measures by security forces in parts of the Kashmir Valley for the level of violence and disturbances it has propelled onto multi-media. It is quite alarming and full of pain.
Against the backdrop of the blood-letting disturbances making headlines, little or no attention has been paid in what is happening in rest of the state, which is aloof to the concerns that are believed to be at the core of the agitation measured by peaking violence and deaths . Still worse, it is being seen as a permanent state of confrontation on the streets , which has taken away the narrative of economy and education from the life of Kashmiris. The impression is that they are obsessed and confident of achieving something spectacular as the end game. But that end game is nowhere in sight.
Jammu’s Hindu , Sikh and Christian , and a lot many Muslims stand for the opposite to the idea and the agitation that a section of the Valley Muslims in the Valley are using to draw the international attention .
It is up and down story on that count, as the global diplomats are more worried about what is happening in Yemen, Syria and what happens to Europe after the process of Brexit commences . They are more drawn to the US presidential election and its outcome . That election is more than the first woman , in all probability , making it to the White House . Hillary Clinton represents much more than her gender- her experience in the politics and brush with the global affairs, as first lady, secretary of state and Senator .
Jammu stands for strengthening India and the idea of India in the whole of state. It believes that the whole K-issue is a result of Pakistan’s own game of survival for the neighbouring country, seen as a failed state, in most of the world, needs a distraction of emotional slogan to get Kashmir to keep the things going. Pakistan has hand in the Kashmir trouble is an undeniable fact. But this also is an exaggeration , because Pakistan could not have succeeded in its narrative in Kashmir, had fertile ground not been provided by Delhi by its history of committing mistakes after mistakes. These fed cynicism and deepened the distrust between Srinagar and Delhi . There is no need to elaborate . But, for example, the current troubling situation in the Valley is seen as something that is just three-months old or as igniting of the stored ammunition by Pakistan over the past few months . These assessments are peppered by jingoistic narrative to a large extent . This draws false conclusions . That leaders to wrong diagnosis and the disease continues to expand like cancer.
Ladakh , though many Kashmiris are repulsive to the idea of seeing it as a one unit – they think Kargil is a different entity closer to the Valley because of the majority Muslim population , has its own aspirations. The Buddhists want Union Territory status, detached from the forced rule f Kashmiri Muslims over them. It is staunchly pro-India belt, despite China making attempts to carve out its own space in the cold desert region. Its interest in the region has grown because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Gilgit- Baltistan. The region borders Leh and Kargil . As the facts stand today, Pakistan occupied Kashmir territories have already become a sort of colony of China- Pakistan is a party to that.
If the situation has to be saved, what is needed is, a comprehensive assessment of the condition of all the three major regions and their sub regions , and start of intra J&K dialogue before the proposition of talks with Delhi or Islamabad are put to practice. There, hardly is any communication between the peoples of the three regions in finding an all acceptable solution to their problems . It is a tough call, because pro-India elements have to listen and understand what the other side is saying and why. And, Kashmiri Muslims should also think and talk that whether they would be able to convince anyone in the world, if the problem is just Kashmir-centric .
