After winning the recent Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election under the shadow of fear, Dr Farooq Abdullah termed it as the ‘bloodiest’ and gave a call for Governor’s rule. Incidentally, he is the same representative of the Abdullah dynasty who was ruling the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) when thousands of people were massacred and thrown out of their own houses in 1980s. Then Dr Abdullah’s stand on Governor’s rule is clear from the statement he had made in 1991.
Not long ago, the same Abdullah also spoke about ‘a prolonged, systemic erosion of faith in Kashmir’. Who is responsible for this process of alienation, if any, is conveniently missed out by this clever politician after ruling the State for three generations. It is beyond doubt that the situation in some districts of the Valley, not in the entire J&K, has been worsening and demands for an immediate attention. Police officers and their families serving in J&K have to face threats on day-to-day basis and higher authorities have to advise them not to visit their own houses is the most unfortunate part of this story. There are certain striking factors that need to be taken into consideration while addressing this issue.
Pakistan is the mastermind of the creation of this ‘unrest’ is a known fact. The separatists, open or tacit, supported by the neighbouring country are equally responsible for the crumbling governance in the State. The new trend of growing radicalisation initiated by Sheikh Abdullah and nurtured by the next generation has brought a new wave of frenzied mobs on the streets. More importantly, the legal framework created by Article 370 and Article 35A give undue advantage to the illegal
infiltrators. The basic rights of gender equality,
reservation and decentralisation of governance are
missing in the State. Now these separatist voices and their political messiahs are standing for these discriminatory provisions to perpetuate their influence.
The ‘intellectual’ class who undermine our armed forces and take pride in standing for separatists in the name of ‘human rights’ is also responsible for manufacturing this alienation. For them only terrorists and separatists are human beings, not the silent majority who has been living under the rein of fear. Human rights violations in the Pak-occupied-J&K do not figure in their reference. People of Jammu and Ladakh are nowhere in their discourse on inclusion and justice. They just occupy media and intellectual space by denigrating Bharat and Bharatiya armed forces and fetch funding for their research on alienation. So they are in win-win situation with the separatists, as both continue to thrive on the continuation of the artificial alienation.
The fortunate part is common Bharatiyas are ready to stand by the armed forces and no longer ready to buy the arguments of pseudo-intellectuals. Time has riped to do away with this discourse of double standards on J&K to reach to the solution. Where are those 70 per cent who cast their votes in 2014 elections despite the call of boycott from the separatists and why the number has come down to 7 per cent? Is it just a reaction against the present Government in the State or is there something serious which silent majority is not able to convey? If there is so much of distrust about Bharat, why parents from J&K are keen to send their kids to the schools and universities run by the Government in rest of Bharat? Why do the youth queue up to join armed forces if their struggle is for freedom, as people like Dr Abdullah claim? It is certainly the duty of State government to give voice and space to that silent majority who want to join the path of peace and progress. For that, having courage and conviction to deliver and take the necessary support from the armed forces and police machinery to deal with the frenzied mob on the streets is a must. Will Mehbooba Mufti and her party take up this challenge or follow the path of flip-flop as Abdullahs did is the critical question in which the future of J&K lies. @PrafullaKetkar
