menon s wrote:I was in Srinagar last week, and i happened to talk to a few families. the lament i heard against us goes like this " whenever you speak about Kashmir, u only speak about Islamic terrorism, Pakistan and the Pandits? What about our plight?"
Menon, Kashmiris (applies to the rest of the regions J&K as well) cannot hope to remain isolated without merging themselves in the Indian mainstream and yet dream of improving their lot or plight. All sections of J&Kites seem to have been confused from day one. This was exemplified by the indecisiveness of Maharajah Hari Singh as well as later on by the Abdullahs and others up to and including Congress members from that state today. They cannot sit on the wall for ever and hope to go with wherever the wind was blowing. They speak of Kashmiriyat, ambitions of the people etc without clearly defining these terms. Nobody has been able to clearly define what Kashmiriyat meant. Rightly or wrongly, Maharajah Hari Singh acceded to India. Frankly, India has done far better than Pakistan whether it is economic, religious or political empowerment. They should just take one look at the so called AJK or Gilgit-Baltistan to see how much freedom and empowerment they enjoy here in spite of such grave terrorist situations or in spite of the so-called AFSPA. I am sure they know it but it is again their inability to come to terms with reality, indecisiveness and fear of terrorists that prevent them from the leap of faith. Then, they have third-rate religio-political right-wing leaders and political leaders and pseudo-secularists from all over India who are doing a gross disservice to them by leading them down a wrong aisle. There is no option for Independence here however much they may want to delude themselves with or however much morally it may be appealing. Nehru's promise was in a particular context which has long since been violated by Pakistan and fanatics within J&K itself. No plebiscite is possible after all that has happened.
I may sound insensitive but again, their plight is what they have invited upon themselves. What has brought them more misery than being caught in the crossfire between the terrorists and the security forces ? Are they claiming that the security forces are firing for the heck of it and that the constant news of encounters, killing of terrorists and also personnel of the security forces are all fake ? I am not denying that the terrorists may extract support from some terrified & unwilling people or that some encounters might have been fake. But, that does not detract from the overall picture that the problem persists because Kashmiris support separatists and terrorists like Geelani, Lone, Malik, Mirwaiz, the Mufti and his daughter
et al. What brings them more misery than the thrice a week
hartal sponsored by Geelani that shuts down shops and institutions and raises tensions all around ? What brings them more misery than losing their children when security forces retaliate for the so called
intifaada ? Do they think that the security forces should simply receive body blows from these stone pelters and not retaliate ? Why are they who otherwise talk about 'plight' keeping mum on this ?
the few who are pragmatic and are state dependent, get on the defensive then, " we are okay, but then why? should you still have AFPSA and PSA? "
I think if we can make some changes in that, we can bring down the plight of the common man.
AFSPA or PSA cannot be withdrawn so long as the situation remains abnormal. These were non existent prior to 1990 and so were the 7
million Indian soldiers there. I agree that some changes may need to be made to iron out a few wrinkles but the overall import of AFSPA cannot be changed. It is the cross that they have to carry for not discarding their separatist leaders.
