Heard And Unheard Voices From The Kashmir Valley
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
26 September, 2010
Countercurrents.org
It may be interesting to piece together the heard and unheard voices of different political spectrum of the Kashmir valley that was aired before the all-party delegation headed by Home Minister PC Chidambaram that visited the Kashmir valley recently to reach out to the people of that state.
Kashmir is witnessing unprecedented street protest since June 2010. There is deep anger and frustration among the people in the valley and they have launched a civil disobedience movement that has acquired the characteristics of mass participation. So far, 108 lives have been lost in the current spate of street protest.
With curfew being in place in Kashmir valley for days together, some Kashmiri Muslims are migrating to other parts of India. A trickle that may become exodus if the answers to the problems of the beleaguered state are not found immediately.
Anyway the most uncomfortable view came from the separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a towering figure in the people’s struggle in the Kashmir valley. Although there was nothing new in his views that he has been airing since last sixty years or so, they cannot be brushed aside as it has come in the background of social unrest.
It was for the first time in the last 20 years, an official Indian delegation reached out to Geelani seeking his cooperation in restoring normalcy in the valley and asking him to come forward for dialogue. The hard-line Hurriyat leader bluntly told the delegation to prepare the Government of India, the people of India and the BJP for accepting the hard reality that “Kashmir is a dispute” and “Kashmiris wouldn't surrender before the “blind might of the Indian State.”
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who represents the moderate section of the Hurriyat conference, came up the suggestion, “let the Government of India act on the suggestions given by the Kashmiris. Moreover, facilitate to establish and empower an official body, a Kashmir Committee, consisting of senior representatives of all major Indian political parties, to develop and enter into a process of engagement with the representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” “Let this process be transparently designed to deliver a negotiated solution to the Kashmir issue that is mutually worked towards by and acceptable to all parties concerned,” he further said.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik told the delegation that Kashmiris had made many sacrifices for the resolution of the Kashmir issue but “India has never shown sincerity in its resolution.” He himself gave up violence to pave way for a non-violent mode, but this too was not recognised. “Our movement has since transformed into a non violent form and this change should be respected.” Malik who has lost his cousin in police firing recently, called for a sustained dialogue to find a solution to the Kashmir problem and cautioned that if the dispute was not addressed, the new generation might also be forced to turn violent.
The CPI(M) State unit told the visiting delegates; “the current crisis is the manifestation of aggregation of failed political approaches to resolve the basic problem. There has been failure to develop and evolve a sustainable, result-oriented dialogue process, debates and discussions aimed at resolving the main problem rather than dealing with its offshoots.”
The People’s Democratic Party asked the Centre to come out with "out of box solutions" for resolving the Kashmir issue. It accused the state government of repressive measures and trying to hijack the delegation.
The National Conference party stressed on the restoration of autonomy as permanent solution to the Kashmir problem and demanded that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be withdrawn and a dialogue process initiated
The state Congress party asked the all-party delegation to reach out to civil society in order to get the real feel of the situation. It stood for the unity of the state and opposed the idea of its trifurcation.
Other participants largely spoke about the resolution of the Kashmir issue and reaching out to the victims of excesses in the past three months. They denounced the government's move to enforce curfew in the Valley, “virtually putting the people in jail.” They asked the delegates to impress upon the Centre to acknowledge the “sentiment of Azadi (freedom) and not be in denial mode.” They made an impassioned appeal to put an immediate end to bloodshed in the Valley and sought concrete steps to resolve the Kashmir issue.
In the direct contact with the common people, the delegation heard people’s vows as they narrated how Kashmiris had been suffering because of the three-month unrest, which resulted in 108 deaths so far. Some spoke about corruption, unemployment and lack of infrastructure development, but the dominant view was that it was time to resolve the Kashmir issue. “Feel our pain” was their refrain.
A youth asked the delegation to explain why bullets were fired at the peaceful protesters in Kashmir. While in other states, the security forces are asked to maintain restrain but here whenever there is a protest bullets are being fired straight away. Why the security forces treat the protesters in Kashmir differently, he asked.
“You call Kashmir an atoot ang (inalienable part) of India. If it is so, why are you firing at us? If Kashmir is atoot ang, why are you putting this ang (body part) in the line of fire? If we are a part of your body, why don't you feel our pain?” “The youth of Kashmir only see darkness,” he said
Expressing dismay over corruption and misuse of funds, one participant said that unemployment was a big problem in the state. He suggested that the government of India set up public sector institutions so that Kashmiri youth have something concrete to look upon in their state.
“There have seen so many delegations in the past but no tangible results have been achieved. Once they returned to Delhi, our issues remained the way they always have been,” said one common man, aam admi.
Someone else came up with thoughts that are more positive. ‘People of Kashmir are in a state of desperation and this feeling is recognized by the government of India. He expressed hope that this high-power delegation maybe different and once it goes back to New Delhi with a bagful of views to ponder over, it will address the Kashmir issue with the utmost seriousness.
The moral from the all the heard and unheard voices from the valley is that Kashmir is a unique problem, which requires a unique solution and this idea needs to be brainstormed, carried forward and strengthened.
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at [email protected]
