MARGINALIA : DIVIDE AND BE DAMNED!

Kashmir Times: Septermbet 21st, 2008

One of the greatest problems in the aftermath of the crisis over the Amarnath land transfer,besides the economic and political fallout throughout the state, is the Herculean task ofbridging the divide between the two regions of the state. The hardened posturing in Jammuevoked a similar reaction in the Valley. For the first time, the lines got blurred inKashmir between the anti-India sentiment and anti-Hindutava coupled with anti-Jammufeelings. The spark was provided by the anti-Kashmir discourse, that soon assumed communalovertones, when the agitation against revocation of the Amarnath Shrine Board land began inJammu. The call for economic blockade, which was publicly made by the Sangharsh Samitiseveral times, without any vehement opposition of the same by any quarters, was executedpartially or fully by the mobs on the highway at various places in Jammu region byruthlessly targeting Kashmir bound trucks and Kashmiri drivers. Such acts did not onlyseverely affect the supplies to the Valley but also to the other regions of the state likeRajouri, Poonch, Doda and Ladakh. Later, the Samiti chose to distance itself from the calland the government foolishly tried to cover up its own inefficiency in preventing ablockade, stating that technically it never occurred. But for the people of Kashmir, fearsparked by the highway attacks and shortage of supplies were enough reasons for panic and acounter agitation. For the first time in the history of the Kashmir conflict did Jammu become a word that could inspire not just anger but also hatred. This was a reaction to the 'anti-Kashmir' outburst in Jammu by the saffron brigade dominated by the Sangharsh Samiti, and unquestioned by even those who did not believe in this new wave of hatred invoked either out of fear, sheer complacency or the highly preposterous belief that all of Jammu's problems were created by the Kashmiri leaders. The net result was that Kashmir was as dreaded a word in Jammu, though not the in entire province as the diversity of cultures and demographic patterns in some areas yielded different affiliations, as much as Jammu became a disliked word in Kashmir. There are no dearth of incidents where the nomenclature became important for those who wanted to test the loyalties of the others. The threats to a newly opened Kashmir Square Mall, first of its kind in Jammu, to strike off the word 'Kashmir' from its nomenclature, forced the owners to change it to City Square. Hatred, and racist hatred at that, can be so shockingly amazing. How can cultures, identities and economies interlinked for years be intimidated intoshedding things that are so intrinsic to the lives of individuals and also collective cultures. Over the last more than one and a half century, both Kashmir and Jammu regionshave willingly borrowed from each other, assimilated and accommodated. How can everything be sifted and chaffed over night? How could names associated with business establishments,individuals be suddenly struck off? A number of men in Jammu may be named 'Kashmir Lal' or'Kashmir Singh'. Should they all look for a new identity? Transport companies, shops havenames inspired by Kashmir, a word that for years since the time of Maharajas, came to be anabbreviation for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Should they all be rechristened? And whatabout Kashmiri Pandits, a major chunk of whom today live in Jammu? A vast majority of themwere vocally and physically active in Jammu's agitation, the migrant camps suddenly churningout Shiv Sainiks and Bajrangis by the dozens. Should they all be asked to assume a newidentity of 'Dogra pandits' or just 'migrant Pandits' with nothing to remind them or anybodyelse of the Kashmir link. And what about institutions like JK Bank, JK Police? Jammuites do not want the tag of Kashmir. Kashmiris do not want trade through Jammu. Sowhere really is the common ground? There may be nothing sacred about keeping J&K intact as aunit. But the interlinked economies of the two regions make building of bridges important.(Thankfully, majority of the business community in Jammu have belatedly understood thedivisive designs of the Hindutava groups that inspired Jammu's agitation and have refused toreact rashly to reservations raised by Kashmiri businessmen, though some have once againgullibly fallen into the trap.) And more than the economic question is the vitality of thecultural and religious overlappings. Jammu region has a good 30-35 percent Muslims, majorityof whom reside in Rajouri, Poonch and Doda. What is the fate of such regions in a dividedstate? And more importantly, what is the fate of Muslims in a communal divide? These areimportant questions that those talking about divisions need to grapple with. And solution,for building bridges, which is no ordinary task, lies mainly in these two complex dimensionsof economy as also cultural and religious overlappings. The SRTC employees agitation, withemployees from both Jammu and the Valley joining hands despite such a vitiated atmosphereshows the way. So does Jammu's past history of two decades when its people failed to succumbto any communal provocation and instead had begun to empathise with the increasing humanrights violations in Kashmir, which indicates the limited scope of the communal wave, thatis if it is treated in the right way. Those with a vested interest in unity and peace onlyneed to understand such signals, do a bit of re-introspection and then move ahead.