Binoo Joshi
Much more alarming than the loss of studies of students during the ogling unrest is the pernicious narrative suggesting that any talk of opening of schools or regular education is nothing short of being a renegade to the cause for which the Valley residents are fighting for.
The narrators have summed up that Kashmir was witnessing worst kind of brutalities, much more serious and dangerous than Jews did at the hand of Nazis in Germany and elsewhere . This preposterous line of argument , twisting the realities , poses a grave danger to Kashmiri society in the future. It is so because, this is being peddled by the so-called high class people who have held very important positions, and who are supposed to be the enlightened minds.
Enlightened intellectuals and civil society leaders have a greater responsibility to present a realistic picture and show a way out of the crisis. But when such people join the chorus of stone throwing protestors or follow the agenda of illiterate drug addicts on the street corners , then it becomes a serious issue to be pondered over.
At the moment , Kashmir is passing through a very tough phase. In the past more than 100 days of protests, curfews, shutdowns injected by the armed militants , this “paradise on earth” has added many dark chapters to its history . Burhan Wani was not the first or the last militant to be killed in an encounter . He was an icon of social media. He had a wide range of appeal among teenagers , most of whom are addicted to smart phones and vulnerable to what is broadcast on this second- to second refreshed media.
But the way the violence erupted following the July 8th killing of Burhan across South Kashmir before spreading to other parts of the Valley in equal, if not more, intensity , suggested that the plans to burn Kashmir were already in place. The local narrative joined by the all-time mischief making potential made it highly combustible .
What has happened in the past more than 100 days cannot be a victory of any sort . It is defeat for all. It was shocking to hear Mirwaiz Umar Farooq , Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference to claim that this tragic mile stone of 100 days of shutdowns, 90 deaths, hundreds blinded and thousands injured was a “ moral victory .” His justification : the Kashmiri people have shown that they have both the potential of resistance and resilience to fight for their “ right to self determination.”
That schools were closed throughout this agitation, and there are not even feeble signs of their re-opening in the near future unless the separatists shut their protest calendar all at once and stone throwers retreat to their homes . Paradoxically, it also is a fact that with several hundred behind bars , an uneasiness dawns automatically. How can the schools open in these circumstances. It is a fair point. But , the question is that those in jails are a threat to peace or their release will be some kind of repentance on their part . It is too difficult to answer. It is a double-edged situation . But what abut the psyche of the children who have lost their studies and view attending schools as a dent to the resistance . Where do we go from here?
