Insights for a Pro-Azadi Kashmiri...

(Response to a recent comment on my post: Time for Introspection.... , relevant for many pro-azadi kashmiris..)

Dear Anonymous,

It is very easy to post a comment without thinking about the implications.

Why do you think that when 100Crore people in India have a say in their future, much better than rest of the developing countries, (even incomparable to Pakistan!!), a mere 70 lakh people would have a problem? (70 Lakh include population from Rajauri, Poonch, Doda, Kupwara, Baramulla, Srinagar, Badgam, Pulwama and Anantnag as per old district setup, 2001 census)

The problem is that we Kashmiris never think.

Suppose you get the "Azaadi" that you demand. Would you then be able to decide your "future"?Who will decide it?

Your Hurriyat Leaders, who keep on changing their allegience every now and then? And have hoarded their houses with money flowing in from different agencies? And live under Indian security shouting slogans of Azadi? And spend Indian taxpayers money for innumerable five-star treatments?

Or the two Lone brothers, who find it difficult to accept even each other?

Or the innumerable tanzeems and Ikhwanis who were active a few years back? (Who will certainly be revived in case you get your "Azadi")? Who killed people for ransom, and for settling personal scores?

Or the Muftis? about who I need not comment.

And how do you define "say in future". There cant be an idealistic state. To be practical, we have to compare the "say in future" we have, to existing countries around us. And let me tell with pride that India is amongst the top ones in the list.

Now coming to sustainability, that you "feel" is not an issue.

What is our population today? 70 Lacs....

Out of these, how many do you think would be young people? say 30% which makes it 21 Lacs.Out of these how many do you think will join your army? Even if the number is 1% (The % for India, which has one of the largest Army in the world, is 0.25%) that makes it just around 21,000 (After considering a 4-times turn out of 1% from 0.25%)

Today, our forces, excluding Police, are estimated at 7,00,000 who protect our borders against Pakistan & China directly and against innumerable countries indirectly.How do you think you are going to address to this issue with just 21,000 people (By exaggerated estimates)?

Today you talk about "say in future" because you are in India. God forbid, if you have what you desire, you would no longer talk about these issues. And I need not say what the new issues would be.

Official estimates claim that more than 7,00,000 people have been killed in Afghanistan. They dont have proper systems for health, education, sanitation, governance and the people cannot have a "say in their future" Do we want this for us?

If educated people (Educated because so far we are not Afghanistan) like us start neglegting the issues of sustainence and stability, we have no locus-standi to pass judgements about the future of 70 Lac people, whose future depends upon opinion of each one of us.

This is just about military stability. I can go on and on and give insights about political, social, economic security and stability. But I want you, and people like you to ponder over what we realy want for ourselves...

Identity and Violence

This blog seems to be centered on the Jammu-Kashmir divide and seems to portray a picture that this is the problem facing the state/region. While the issue (Shri Amarnath land transfer) has invoked strong sentiments on both sides, I see it only as an effect of what has been going on.
Protests in Jammu were a reaction to what happened in Kashmir.
It is thus, I believe, important to understand why Kashmir reacted the way it did.
For a start, there are two basic issues-that of identity and of recognition, that must be considered if one honestly seeks to understand the ‘people of kashmir’, keeping the biases aside.
Identity
I am a Muslim. I am a Kashmiri. Am I an Indian?
I envy the confidence with which Omar Abdullah asserted that he is one and that he did not see a problem with it. I wish I could say that too.
What is my identity? On what equation does a Kashmiri identity stand when juxtaposed with a Muslim and an Indian identity?
The question is not an easy one to answer. I have been looking for answers. I have been trying to discover my identity. Do I look for it in Islam, in the preamble of the constitution of India or just confine myself to Kashmiriyat? Or is it a blend of them? If it is indeed a blend, is there a hierarchy between them? If not, are they totally unconnected and/or mutually exclusive? Most of all, why am I faced with such questions?
I am facing a major crisis. The issue that I hold closest to my heart has been that of Kashmir. It is a tragedy that I do not have an opinion about it. However hard I might have tried.

Is the Kashmir problem a result of this confusion that I am also facing(if it indeed is, what is the reason for this confusion)?Is a majority of Kashmiris(if not just everyone) facing the same problem as I am? The picture that the past few decades have presented about us..undecided, confused, one moment for azadi, the other for Pakistan and yet another for India, is pathetic. Is this nature inherent in our genes? Is that what I am, a hypocrite?
There is one answer I do know. It is not in my genes. It is not in Our genes. We are not hypocrites. We want peace and we want democracy.
It is not the confusion that is the cause of the problem. It is the way Kashmir has been handled that has given rise to this confusion-of identity, which is inextricably linked to the fact of recognition, of recognition of the simple fact that Kashmir belongs to the people of Kashmir also and it is the people of Kashmir who belong there.
Recognition
I was born a Kashmiri. Something I have always been proud of and a fact that I cherish. Like any other individual, right thinking individual, I am terrified when I see what I see in Kashmir and have often thought about why the situation is so.
I do not propose to delve into any philosophical analysis of the problem. I only wish to bring forth one single experience of mine that shattered me as an individual(not just as a ‘Kashmiri Muslim’) and invoked the abovementioned and various other questions, some of which I find myself incapable of articulating .
I had just finished college and had invited my friends home. To Kashmir. Since I was the one who belonged to the place, they trusted me with the task of planning the trip. Morning of day 3 was booked for Shankar Acharya Mandir.
I was the early riser in the group. That day too, I woke up, offered my namaz and woke everyone up. I got into the drivers seat and set out.
I was really proud of being where I was. Each and every word of praise that I heard about Kashmir from my friends elated me so much as if it was me who was being praised. This was not to be.
There is a barricade about 3 kms before the temple. We were stopped, like all other cars. I stopped and greeted the ‘army wala’. Still proud of the fact that I was in my motherland. Her beauty was still captivating despite the years of turmoil.
The ‘army wala’ asked us where we were headed. I answered. He asked me who the ‘local’ were. I, swollen with pride, declared it was me and a cousin of mine who was sitting behind. All the pride, the self worth, a sense of belonging, the identity, was reduced to ashes when the ‘army wala’ ordered-dono niche utar jao.
It was the two of us who were frisked. The others, my friends, my hindu friends, received a warm greeting and the army wala waved them off with a smiling face.
It was their turn to be proud. I was shattered. Was it not I who belonged to the place?
I needed recognition. I needed respect. I needed the army wala-the state, to, at least, acknowledge the fact that I belonged to the place. The least I needed was to be treated at par with my friends. I have not been at peace ever since. The incident has left a deep scar on my soul. The greater tragedy however is that I see no signs of it healing-not now, not any time in the future.
One can not be but amazed at the linkage between the two incidents. Of Amarnath and of Shankar Acharya. Of a Muslim driving his Hindu friends. But it is the third aspect of the similarities that needs introspection.
It is the problem of recognition and assertion. Perhaps, everyone is not a coward like me. There are some people who would risk their lives to give it back to the ‘army wala’. I could not. I regret. Pehaps some years of living in kashmir would instill that courage in me(I must clarify that ‘give it back’ does not necessarily imply violence.It takes more courage to lodge a non violent protest-just as the Mahatma did)
It is not the mere fact of land transfer, in vacuum, devoid of any history that is causing havoc. It is a million incidents of dissimilar treatment like the one I faced en route Shankar Acharya Temple that build up a psyche. It is this fact that needs to be taken care of.
To say the least, WE also want a right to live with ‘human dignity’.

(The topic derives its name from the book of the same name authored by Amartya sen)