Kashmir's Wait For A True Leader
By Younus Farooq
11 March, 2013
Countercurrents.org
We could have prevented much loss of human lives and secured what is now being called “injured honor” of Kashmir’s had the Kashmir home grown resistance been a political movement right from the day it fell to forced occupation . The inspiration for writing this piece comes from the one article of A.G.Noorani- constitutional expert and historian- entitled “Kashmir’s wronged strategy “published in Dawn newspaper dated 9 November,2012.
A.G.Noorani, as I have understood, takes Kashmir struggle back to British colonial era that was coming apart at the outbreak of World War II.
Political leaders of congress and Muslim league, who desired liberation of their people, find it necessary to work within the British system. The most of the political vibrant leader from Indian National Congress was pundit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, represented the Muslim League.
Shortly after the war or so, The Indian Independence Act, 1947, when it came into force, set in motion the creation of two independent domains. With the organization of an effective political movement, British Empire yielded to the Independence cry and relished British departure.
Kashmir freedom movement needs an exceptional leader, well educated, rational, problem solving, who can coordinate a divided Kashmir movement into a one whole organized ideology. The freedom movement of Kashmir needs a more political, ideological and less sentimental leader who can inspire masses and be able to coordinate and sustain them. It is important to rid people of wrong ideas and bring about a great change.
“Protests have taken a toll on the patience of people”, rightly understands A.G.Noorani and believes that the pro-freedom leadership should instead search for a workable alternative and a radical shift perspective.
Protest marches and strikes have little hope to defeat an armed strength. They can only, instead, intimidate and keep the struggle alive in the hope of breaking the back of other side. The costs of the persistent protests should be outweighed against the benefits. The time had come to abandon little street wars. As long as our political consciousness remains low, effective, organized and coordinated freedom action will be a distant dream.
The response of the armed forces is always out of proportion to the mass uprising they face. The Indian government wants to integrate Kashmir state and to hold on to it they are using any and all means –arbitrary arrests, torture of every conceivable sort, and just to mention a few, that has terrorized a great part of Kashmir.
The summer uprising of 2008 which claimed more than one hundred lives was a humiliating reminder of the defeat of leadership, only, morally bent on the question of India’s right to rule Kashmir, which has, yet, remained at the core of the continuing tension in state of Kashmir. The loss of great lives reflects impotence and frustration of our leaders commanding behind the walls fate of lakhs of innocent lives.
Who is responsible for the killings of innocent people? The youth took to streets under the impression that streets wars would do for them. Over the years, the Kashmir leadership had failed to achieve anything of substance.
The hard-liner parties in Kashmir have slacken the freedom struggle that is why we are being continuously beaten and killed by formidable military strength of India. We will continue to suffer because of our backwardness, political backwardness, if we did not act and act decisively.
For a political solution of Kashmir the most urgent task is to negotiate and discuss the fate of people of Kashmir whom India assumes an integral part and thus an internal matter. The time had come to sit down and talk.
Little street wars and positive actions-protests, strikes and marches emerge as soon as soon as riot chances emerge. The freedom struggle evolves out of an effective political movement, political agitation and organized planning while as increased respect for human rights, the release of prisoners, greater freedom of speech and press, and the right to hold demonstrations-all possible by strikes or positive actions.
It is a Kashmir in which youth are born. Our chances of resolving problems which we inherit depend on what we know about the problem. It has rightly been said that to remain unaware of one’s past is to compound the chances of either perpetuating the current problems or committing grievous and possibly irretrievable errors.
Freedom movements emerge as they meet leaders. The fervent which keeps a movement going cannot be sustained indefinitely. As long as leaders are able to inspire followers, movement deems secure. After the death of Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini, the best practitioner of militant Islam, most people in Iran change.
The many factional parties in favor of Freedom should try to resolve their problems and deliberate the political future of Kashmir.
Few parties in Kashmir that were formed as a movement seeking social change or more than that has down the road found a new calling, avoided radical shifts in policy and decidedly promote propaganda.
MLA Lang ate, engineer Abdul Rashid, observes, A.G.Noorani, during a visit to Kashmir, sometimes making fervor appeals shall be conceived to be backed by Pro-freedom leaders, or say, Hurriyat leaders, a far as I can gather, is a clarion call for Kashmir leaders to seek elections and abandon little street wars.
While in the University, I on few occasions watched a growing desire for change manifested by University students in large political demonstrations in June 2010.The demonstrations continued for almost few days before police forces dispersed the demonstrations.
I believe in my two year study course at University I did not think, I saw encouraging signs of reforms or watched organized freedom chants.
First student activism is highly restricted and second permission to freer access to information is limited.
Students are not allowed to heed to public opinion on political issues, evidences of wide spread corruption among high University officials did not perturb our intellectuals sitting comfortably in academic chairs.
That the situation of a society changes in the face of education, ironically, indigenous elite intellectuals, have remained politically less conscious and become victims of ranks,awards,degrees and medals.
The great poet-philosopher Al-lama Mohammad Iqbal warned us of the western styled education system one which pollutes the spirit of revolution and diverts youth to crooked lines, as such, fashion parties, beauty bars and TV shows.
Kashmir intellectual society, academicians, and teachers, it can be said, has not fully developed a sense of grievance and responsibility, political consciousness, big prospect of effective, organized action has evaded our collective thought.
The influence of the Islamic revolution in Iran and the rise of the Islamic fervor throughout the Arab world, the coming of power of Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsi, did not stimulate our leadership to take a big leap forward instead prefer to stick in. Shall our pro-freedom leaders and intellectual finest seek elections and get appointed and once this comes, convene all, and organize political parties and effect a real change.
The future of a large part of population in Kashmir is deeply entrenched in one of the most dangerous places of the world Kashmir-a flash point for a possible nuclear war in the Subcontinent
Younus Farooq is a kashmir based journalist
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