Another One Falls in Kashmir, But What's The Point? By Bashir Manzar

Another One Falls in Kashmir,
But What's The Point?

By Bashir Manzar

09 May, 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire

The violence has eaten up one more top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. As for as military strength and organisational set-up goes, Hizbul Mujahideen
is the only indigenous militant group though it too is based across the line of divide.

From past few months security forces have succeeded in eliminating several top leaders of the outfit. For security forces the killings are 'big successes' and for Hizb leadership 'the martyrdom of its leadership strengthens its resolve to fight against India'. But amid all these claims and counter claims, Kashmir is losing its children. The killing practice is on from last fourteen years. Bullet whether it comes out from the gun of security man or militant has always one and the only one target - Kashmiri. A street vendor, a student, a shopkeeper, a pedestrian, a militant - all of them children of this erstwhile Paradise on the Earth. How long will this land be coloured in human blood? How long people have to wail, cry and sob for their dear ones? How long death will continue to have its Tandau in the lanes and by-lanes of Kashmir? These and much more questions are to be pondered upon. Ordinary Kashmiris have no say in the whole affair. Peoples' lips have been sealed. They are not allowed to say anything that even smells of criticism. How ironic is the situation that thosewho talk of peace and non-violence are being branded as enemy agents.

In such a scenario how one can expect people to raise their voice against every day killings? They have been reduced to nothingness. And therefore onus lies on the leadership, both political as well as militant. Leadership doesn't survive in the vacuum. It needs to have its roots in the ground. Those who fail to feel the pulse of the people can never claim to be the leaders and
unfortunately like mainstream politicians, the separatist (political as well as militant) leadership too has no connection with the ground.

Abdul Rashid Shardar was Hizb operational chief. But before that he was son of a mother, who always wishes her son to shoulder her coffin and not the otherwise. He was husband of a wife, who would have always prayed to remain 'Sada Suhagan'. He was father of some cute children, who would have never dreamt of becoming orphans. He was a human being and therefore, whether one would have agreed with his political philosophy or not, his death has pained everyone in Kashmir the way deaths of other Kashmiris pain people every day. But with every death the only question that haunts everyone is 'how long?' Why the leadership is not trying to read peoples' mood. A strike was called today by Hizbul Mujahideen and supported by Geelani group of Hurriyat Conference. The strike call failed to generate public response. Why? Not because people were not pained at Rashid's death but because people are fed up with violence. They have seen enough of it and now want an end to it. Every Kashmiri wants permanent resolution of Kashmir issue because in that lies the future of all Kashmiris. But is the violent means only way to fight for ones rights? This is the question that people have started raising.

The people have started questioning the separatist leaders like Muhammad Yasin Malik and Shabir Ahmad Shah. These leaders talk of non-violence but never miss an opportunity to glamorise violence when it suits furthering their
own respective agendas. If these young leaders are convinced that militancy is the best option to get Azadi from India, why have they abandoned it? Rashid was 38 and the young crop of the separatist leadership too is almost in the same age group and some are even younger than Rashid. Then why don't they leave over ground politicking to aged leaders like Geelani, Prof Bhat, Fazal Haq Qureshi, Azam Inqilabi etc and themselves join the militancy and fight Indian forces.

These leaders owe an explanation to Kashmiris and will have to answer, if not today but sometime in future, that what they actually stand for. If they really believe in non-violence and peaceful means of struggle, why don't they take the same message to those Kashmiri boys who are fighting militarily? Aren't their lives precious? Aren't those young people pride sons of this soil? Trading in blood is easy but saving human lives is something that makes leaders out of ordinary citizens.

The writer is editor Kashmir Images, a Srinagar based English daily