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| Nemesis of pelting stones | | | Shiban Khaibri | 7/10/2010 10:07:48 PM |
| For quite some time, Kashmir has been made to plunge into a new type of boil – that of pelting police with stones and missiles. This stoning culture has turned into an institution or a commercial industry, run in a sustained and well organized manner, the far reaching connotations or the perilous consequences of which were so far underestimated by the present government. This has , so far resulted in the loss of precious 15 human lives. That the army had to be called in to assist in maintaining order, speaks about the volatility, the situation had reached.
Who is responsible for the loss of these lives? Who is instigating, organizing and funding the people, mostly young boys to resort to this type of vandalism? What political mileage and allied benefits are the forces behind this obnoxious game, deriving by risking the lives of some ones’ dears? These are some vital questions, central to the institution of stone pelting, which need answers.
This vicious circle of cause and effect is going to the detriment of those in the name of whom the illusional Azadi is sought as this violence brings in its wake , injuries, casualties , hartals, curfews and hardships for the common man.
The timings of these disturbances, however, appear to have been tailored around the Holy Amar Nath Yatra. It may be recalled that as a prelude to this violence ,comes the diktat from the Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to restrict the yatra to just 15 days and in case of “ defying “ the diktat, he threatens to launch agitation and stage protests. This warning is conveyed by him while addressing a gathering after Friday prayers on June 18, 2010 at Iqra Masjid, Magarmal Bagh, Srinagar , thus mixing religion with politics. He says that the yatra had “an adverse impact on the Muslim majority region of J&K state which was in the national interest of India. “. True to his words, the threat is transformed into action on the roads.
Coming straight to the point, the whole gamut of these protests and the resultant violence is to attempt to accomplish the unfinished agenda of the perpetrators of terror ,whose one point programme is to secede Kashmir from India. The compulsive and the motivating factor behind the violence is the driving force of religious frenzy , well inspired and properly followed up by agencies from across the border. Pakistan is claiming Kashmir because Kashmir is a Muslim majority place (religious factor).The terrorists and fundamentalists do not tolerate non Muslims and therefore the entire Hindu community must be hounded out from Kashmir (religious factor). Amar Nath Yatra, with a history of thousands of years , is having “an adverse impact on the Muslim majority “ and must be banned , threatened or conducted as per the wishes of the likes of Geelani (Again religious factor). Attacks on this yatra on Aug.1, 2000, July20, 2001 and Aug.6, 2002 are still fresh in memory, which claimed lives of many innocents. From pious places like the mosques, people are often exhorted to come out on streets, take out protest rallies and demonstrations which lead to violence? In the process, obnoxious communal and hate laced slogans are raised, why?
Azadi from India for what? What is denied in India which could be got under Azadi or by becoming a part of Pakistan? What is inferred by “self esteem”, “identity”, “disillusionment”, “recognition as Kashmiri quam” et-al? Have not 68% of the people fearlessly elected the present government in the state? Has there been a solitary instance of any rigging, manipulation or any cheating in any part of the valley in the recent Assembly elections? Was not the whole media , National and international watching with an eagle’s eye the conducting of these elections?
Has this state had any Chief Minister , more so a non Muslim, ever foisted by the centre since the state acceded to India?
Is the local administration, police, judiciary and all other departments and areas of vital importance, not manned by local people in the state, more so in the valley, overwhelmingly by the Muslims? Are there any religious restrictions anywhere in the state imposed on Muslims , even in the least, and are not all religious activities performed to the satisfaction of all those for whom and by whom cry of Azadi is made? Has there been a solitary instance of any interference or imposition of any restriction in respect of building of new mosques and Dargahs or any renovations , repairs to the existing ones? Then why and which azadi is demanded? Are not Kashmiri Muslims moving freely throughout the country having access to education, trade, commerce and the will to settle anywhere in India ?Are not Kashmiris trading in places as far as in Goa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu , Thiruvanantapuram , Kolkata etc; without any fear, just like other fellow citizens? Where and by whom is self esteem, honour, identity and the like denied leading to what is called anger in the youth who, as a catharsis, should rain stones on the police?
Is Kashmir economically not much ahead of most of the developed areas of India , in the fields of education, medical science, social infrastructure, standard of living and the like? The stone pelting brigade comprising youths of early teens and twenties cannot ,by any logic, be justified in pelting police with stones because they are” unemployed” as per some self appointed experts on Kashmir affairs. Is the unbridled freedom enjoyed by those who keep on cursing India and Indian institutions having any parallels in any democracy of the world? Have not these leaders been allowed to visit Pakistan , OIC meets and other countries where they spew venom against India and even in hospitals and places of detention they enjoy VVIP status and treatment? Have these leaders made known the worth of fortunes and assets amassed by them disproportionate to their known sources of income to the Kashmiri Quam ,let alone paying any tax on them?
The NC and PDP are, day in and day out, competing with each other in propagating autonomy, self rule, dual control, irrelevant border, revoking of AFSPA, championing for talks with Pakistan (and on very urgent basis) etc; and thus are building space of suspicion , cynicism, political ambiguity and instability making a smooth cake walk of the communal secessionist forces to occupy the space and have a field day. Pseudo intellectuals, self appointed experts on Kashmir affairs and a section of media are harping on and projecting the causes which have got nothing to do with what the state, in particular Kashmir has been dipped into since 1989-90. Prior to that, not a single incident of any excesses by the Indian security forces and army has been even heard of in this state.
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( Shiban Khaibri)
[email protected]
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