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)

We can prosper in Peace, not in Hatered

From Greater Kashmir (Also read Behind the Scenes)
So far the state of J&K was immune from communal onslaughts after the massacre of 1947. The people of these two regions were sharing good and bad days with each other like brothers. Many more ugly events took place in other states of the country since partition but it did not affect the harmony. But unfortunately the Amarnath Land Row created abrupt wedge between these two partners and created so much distance between them which seems very difficult now to bridge. Kashmiris fully know that the people of Jammu are tolerant race and have seen many ups and downs during last sixty years but have never reacted in such a harsh way against other sects of the state. This time they have entirely forgotten the past sixty years close association with their state mates of Kashmir and have used drastic and unlawful measures against them which were beyond expectation. Thus the Kashmiri Muslims and the Muslims of surrounding areas of Jammu had to sustain irreparable loss of precious lives and huge property and have become unwanted within a short burst of time. They have crossed all the limits and have not even hesitated to block the National Highway leading to Kashmir from Lakhanpur and stopped flow of essential supplies to Kashmir for days together. Wherever they spotted any loaded truck with goods bound for Kashmir, they got hold of the drivers and beat them to the pulp and hurled petrol bombs on them which made them half dead during the course of travelling. After words two drivers of Kashmir breathed their last in Srinagar. These harsh steps are taken at the last stage in the battlefield when all logic fails to work and when the two sides are to part company from each other for good. Therefore it appears that the Sangrash Committee may have some other aims in their heart of hearts, as such the land row seems a mere beginning. These agitating rioters gave communal color to the crusade launched against the Muslims at the behest of Sang Parivar, thereby crossed all the limits of humanity. In spite of such a big upheaval against a particular sect, the authorities at the corridors of power took it very lightly, thereby giving more time to goons of the fascist forces to continue their deplorable acts against the Muslims. The saddest part of the agitation was that the Kashmiri Pandits affiliated with so called “Panun Kashmir” and “Kashmir Samiti’, spewing venom against Kashmiri Muslims and the Muslims of surrounding areas of Jammu. They are the persons who used iron rods, chains, tridents and petrol bombs against Muslims and hurt their religious sentiments in a very crude manner. This they are doing contrary to the sincere efforts of Kashmiri Muslims for their homecoming. The wounds inflicted upon the said community during the upheaval may heal up in due course but the scars of the wounds will remain visible for all times to come and may revive the scuffle if the demands of the Sangrash Committee are beyond Amarnath. Thus the communal divide has turned the two communities poles apart. Now the land row agitation has come to halt in the wake of a recent accord reached between the Government and the Sangrash Committee on 31st August 2008. But it is one sided. Therefore it would be ever lasting and credible agreement only when Kashmiri Pandiths will take up the management of the Yatra.
S M Qadiri

"what is sad is that the focus in kashmir, especially of the Pundit community is not on the human shade of the dispute but on the geographical side. they want thier land back, the land which they were forced leave, but they refuse to see that this land also belongs to the common kashmiri who has spent a lifetime in a troubled land, who has seen his family die at the hands of the militants as well as of the army"- Anonymous, on Planforindia

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.

Shri Amarnath Yatra And Environment Conservation

By Ravinder Singh
Fifty kilometer long route via Pahalgam and 14 kilometer from Baltal side to Shri Amarnath Cave Shrine remains jam packed with devotees during yatra days. During those days one can see thousands of pony-wallas and other local laborers who carry devotees to the shrine. The road up to Chandanwari is already built. There are 14 points along two routes where tourists assemble for rest and stay. This can entirely be avoided by ropeway from Baltal side. Baltal to Holy Cave From Baltal Holy Cave is just 14 Kms ahead. This distance can be covered by foot or one can hire ponies to easily reach your destination. However, 'Dandies' are also available for handicapped and aged pilgrims. The width of the pebbled (kuchha) road is a bit narrow as compared to the Chandanwari- Holy Cave route. Moreover, the road is uneven as compared to the Chandanwari route, but pilgrims can return to base camp Baltal through this route in just one day. ÿ In May1969 I visited Pahalgam which was then the base camp for pilgrims going to Amarnath. It was about a kilometer stretch of flat area surrounded by hills on either side. One could spot just a few shops and lodges. We decided to go up to Chandanwadi. The path to follow to reach there was narrow. One could see snow covered steep hills on either sides of path. We also met 3-4 tourists en-route. We noticed that in the whole passage there was no place to take rest, no shelter for protection in case of rains or land slide. But above all not even a single policeman was seen which showed that there existed no fear of any sort in that time. This year we are informed that 4-5 lakh devotees paid visit to Holy Cave Shrine in just two months. Rush of devotees could be seen in all these days in area around 50 kilometers in length from both routes. But unlike before in the present times one gets to see number of security personnel on duty there. This year at one point 300 tents had been pitched for devotees and there were CRPF camps for the protection of devotees lined up all along the route. Visit of pilgrims in such a large number can be a reason in creation of a lot of environmental hazards. This can lead to gross violation of environment laws also but it has been seen that such violations have been done earlier also. In Gujarat authorities managed to raise Sardar Sarovar dam height from 80 meters in 1995 to 110 meters in 2004 and planned pond level is 138 meters. Damage to environment can be done in our state also. Thousand tons of human waste difficult to recycle in freezing cold is generated along Amarnath route every day. Such is the flow of devotees in the present times that at times there may be over 50,000 devotees, service providers and security personnel at one base camp. They are provided with different facilities there. Food is cooked for them. Generators for providing light are run during all the days of yatra. Service of ponies and horses to carry pilgrims is also provided. Helicopters also operate in the area. Some 5,000 tents, 5,000 toilets, 5000 garbage boxes, 100 generators and 1000 teams of cooks with all the provisions are required to serve peak rush. All these collectively lead to severe environment damage. It seems that Amarnath agitation is an attempt to distract attention from real environment devastation issue which was also reported by press as it happened in Delhi where demolition of few big show rooms triggered agitation which ultimately resulted in regularization of half a million illegal shops and half a million illegal home constructions. This yatra has till now helped locals in that area make money by providing services to devotees visiting there but now the so called small piece of land has become dividing line between two communities. Environment conservation is the need of the hour. For that helicopter service needs to be discontinued and several other steps are also needed to be taken. J&K government may build a ropeway from Baltal side. It will help devotees to return to Baltal the same day. When they do not stay enroute then obviously no harm will be caused to environment.

Response to Planforindia.blogspot.com

Reply to a discussion on http://planforindia.blogspot.com/2008/08/truth-about-holy-amarnath-cave-and.html
1. The shrine was discovered by a Kashmiri Muslim.
Response: According to a legend….
Reply to response:
Definition of Legend Oxford Concise English Dictionary: A traditional story popularly regarded as historical but which is not authenticated; Oxford Pocket English Dictionary: A traditional story from the past which may or may not be true
Definition of Puranas : eighteen ancient books consisting of legends and mythological narrations dealing with creation, recreation and the genealogies of sages and rulers
Definition of Mythology (Oxford Pocket English Dictionary): Set of widely held but exaggerated or false stories or beliefs.
2. The Yatra has always been conducted by Kashmiri Muslims
Response: Yes the yatra has been supported by the Malik family descendents but not conducted by them
Reply to response
Supported by Malik Family agreed. But who are the pony owners? Who give shelter to Yatris during storms? Who carry the old on their backs? For your information, they are all Muslims since you seem to have seen Kashmir only through the internet and through “mythological” stories.
3. No Yatri was ever harmed by a Kashmiri Muslim.
Response: Yes, numerous. Even this year some were killed at Bus Stand (5), grenade attack at Gulmarg, etc. Here are only some of them from previous years, it is a long list but i have taken only 3 years
Reply to response
Total No. of Kashmiri Muslims Killed (as per Govt. of India Statistics) since 1988 – 31,000
Total Number of Kashmiri Pandits Killed (as per your own blog): 361
It is grossly incorrect to term Kashmiri Muslims as terrorists. The statement “All terrorists are Kashmiri Muslims” can to an extent be a valid statement. But when you take the converse statement it is an utter violation of logical reasoning. The total Terrorist population by exaggerated estimates would be no more than 1% of the entire population.
Hence if you say Yatris were killed by Kashmiri Muslims, I suggest you go back to school and take a class in reasoning.
By the way, terrorists have no religion and have been misusing religion/race/creed since time immemorial across the world.
4. This year, we had record number of Yatris (more than 300,000) visiting the holy Shrine.
Response: Yes, that is good but it has nothing to do with the valley as the arrangements are done by the SASB. Generally Yatra’s world over are matter of faith and people endure great hardship to complete them. Kashmir being part of India, 300,000 or 3 million is no big deal.
Reply to response:
SASB had only 8 Hindu members - Justice (Retd) G D Sharma, Prof Vishnu Murti Shastri, Sunil Sachdeva, Manoj Gaur, Dr Vimla Dhar, Professor Neerja Mattoo, Raghu Modi and Dr Arun Kumar. The people who did the actual work on field were all Kashmiri Muslims. Thus, to say that just 8 people managed a gathering of 3,00,000 people is absolutely ridiculous.
5. Each and every Yatri had praises for the locals who fed them in spite of scanty supplies due to the economic blockage of the highway
Response: Well, that is what was the great sufi kashmiri culture that Paki’s wanted to destroy. This was the culture of Lal Ded and Rishi peer….
Reply to response
I absolutely agree with your statement. The primary aim of Pakistan is to destroy any and every system in India. They had been trying to disconnect the Valley from the rest of India for the past 20 years. When they didn’t succeed people in Jammu came to their aid. For God’s sake stop communalizing the whole issue.
6. Entire country including the 300,000 Yatris are fully satisfied with the arrangements
Response: Well, the arrangements were done by SASB.
Reply to response
As in point No 4
7. A handful of communal elements at Jammu have a problem.
Response: It is not as our P.M say “an issue of modalities”. It is a decision of how people will be treated. 400,000 pandits were forced out of their land, 361 were killed, their temples destroyed and sahbir shah, sajjad lone, yasin mailk and their likes are saying that Jammu has communal elements. Well it is like Pakistan accusing India of supporting Taliban
Reply to response
I’m sorry but I’ll again say that Jagmohan was responsible for the unfortunate uprooting of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. He planned to “cleanse” the Kasmiri separatists in an indiscriminate planned attack. He along with his agencies spread terror amongst the KPs and they used to send Military Trucks to aid the migration. Even today, 1100 KP families still live in the valley. Why did anyone not touch them?
Coming to issues at Jammu, we have heard all voices coming from Jammu and from Kashmir. The voices and actions from Jammu are categorically against Muslims to the extent that even houses of Gujjars are being destroyed and supplies to the valley have been stopped.
On the contrary, Kashmiris made all attempts to make the Yatra successful by all means. Who is communal?

8. The local Jammu Dogra has never in history protested like this.
Response: Well that is the point, their patience has now broken and the last straw in the camels backs was Omar Abdullah’s speech in the parliament. It is he who shouted “it is OUR LAND and we will die but not give it away”….
Reply to response
Excuse me; the land belongs to the people of Jammu as well, unless they choose not to associate themselves with the state. They have an equal right being state subjects. I agree that Kashmiri Pandits are also inhabitants of the land and Omar never disputed that in his speech. However, many of the Pandits chose to leave their homeland. I have read the other story about your childhood on your blog. But tell me how were Muslims different from Pandits. More Muslims who went against the terrorists were killed than Pandits. I will again reiterate that Jagmohan was responsible for the migration. Why did Sikhs and Christians never leave? Even after Chhati Singhpora incident? As I have already stated more than 31,000 Kashmiri Muslims have died due to Militancy, and the number excludes the number of Kashmiri Terrorists.
9. Some of the people who migrated from valley more than decade ago see this as an opportunity to take a revenge to rout out Muslims from Jammu
Response: Well again you are missing the point. Surely 20 years is a long time to take revenge. It is akin to agreeing that temporary structures 13000 feet at Baltal can be used for changing the demographic’s of the valley
Reply to response:
Well, if 20 years is a long time to take revenge, you would not have been blogging hatred today!
It is not about demographics. It is about pollution and contamination of ecology. The SASB started a helicopter service to add to the pollution. They were constructing permanent structures thereby destructing ecology. For evidence you may check their site at http://www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/amarnath-shrine-board.html
Moreover, if the Yatra is going on smoothly, isn’t it immaterial whether the land is transferred or not?
10. The Jammu Dogras have fallen prey to the game plan.
Response: same as above. Sadly, you are missing the point.
Reply to response
Same a/a
11. Who is benefiting from the protests?
Response: Sometimes, protests are done without immediate gains. What will be gained is that the fact that Kashmiri’s have got too much without doing anything. .…
Reply to response:
Pakistan & ISI are benefiting from the protests and from the economic blockade. Wake up!
12. Our soldiers have laid down their lives fighting militants to keep the National Highway open for the past 20 years.
Response: Yes, that is the point. The Highway is a scared piece if land for all and we cannot allow it to be used to pump in secessionist elements. Just for your information, an R.O.P (road opening party) of the army clearing the….
Reply to response:
Our soldiers died to keep the link open but our fellow citizens- brothers and citizens succeeded!
13. Whose cause are people at Jammu supporting?
Response: They are fighting for the cause of India and the right of an Indian over secessionists.
Reply to response:
By blocking the road they are supporting the plans of secessionists
14. Kashmiri Leaders want a unified state including Jammu/Kashmir/POK/Ladakh
Response: Sorry but that is not a consolation. It is and will remain unified as per the 1947 agreed boundaries. It is the writ of the Parliament that the P...
Reply to response
We want a unified state under India. Recent developments in Jammu aim at further dividing the state.
15. Protestors at Jammu want separate Jammu, Separate Kashmir, Separate KP Land, Separate Ladakh and maybe further slices of the flesh of our motherland.
Response: Haven’t heard that but there will always be multiple view points and that is the corner stone of democracy. People in valley who have been following nizam e Mustafa cannot and will not understand what a pluralistic….
Reply to response:
I’m sorry but Sikhs and Christians still continue to live in harmony with us. They, like us, never bowed down to terrorism. We have some of the leading schools run by Christian missionaries. Churches, Gurudwaras and temples and mosques continue with their religious proceedings.
If you now say that temples were destroyed, I would like you to find out how many mosques and shrines were destroyed by terrorists? Remember the destruction of one of the holiest shrines at Chraresharief? I again reiterate, terrorists don’t have any religion.

It is very unfortunate that sometimes ill informed individuals start to "blog" half-truths encouraging communalism. In the world today when everyone is striving towards peace, please use your efforts to contribute for a better tomorrow. Dont sow seeds of violence and hatred!