Delhi can only fix crises, not solve problems

Never should India, a proud, ancient civilisation, submit before the blackmail of terrorism. Peace-building is an organic process; it is not possible to buy peace. Pakistan’s interference inside Kashmir and its support to militancy is well-established. However, issues in Kashmir go much beyond Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmir. It may suit the interests of a few jingoistic nationalists to understand Kashmir purely through the prism of cross-border terrorism; this not only obfuscates the real facts but also destroys the prospects of any peace in Kashmir.

With hindsight, it can be argued without any fear of contradiction that militancy has proved to be disastrous for Kashmir; it very nearly destroyed the indigenous character of Kashmir’s political struggle. And there are no two opinions about that the prolonged militancy causing irreparable damage to Kashmir’s social milieu. Thousands of Kashmiri Pundit families still languish in horrible conditions in migrant camps, while tens of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims have perished inside Kashmir. Yet, 1989 does not indicate the beginning of a conflict on Kashmir; actually with the advent of militancy, Kashmir took a turn for the worst.

The people of Kashmir have largely moved away from militancy after two decades. Credit is also due to the security forces for suppressing the ugly phenomenon of violence. Ideally, it was expected for New Delhi to invest in peace-making. Having triumphed against Pakistan-sponsored militancy, India’s true peace overtures should have reflected the strength of India rather that its weakness to finally win over the deeply alienated population of Jammu and Kashmir. While it is the most appropriate time to strike a favourable deal, New Delhi seems to be simply uninterested in resolving the Kashmir problem for all times to come. Is it that New Delhi is unaware of the ill-consequences of any inaction? Or else, the absence of a meaningful peace initiative only confirm the perennial suspicion in Kashmir that New Delhi has developed the habit of crisis management and has nothing to offer politically.

Contrary to the make-believe world of us pen-pushers, the institutional memory of Delhi is not so weak that it can overlook the wild mood swings of Kashmiri psychology. Neither are the rulers so inept that they will construe the present facade of normalcy in Kashmir as the arrival of sustainable peace. For the moment, the rulers are not to blame: the scene in the Valley presents a picture of prefect peace. Flights are arriving fully packed with tourists and hotels are running out of accommodation. Nobody would have imagined a spectacle of bumper tourist season after the continued deep unrest of three years. In June last year, the blood of young innocent boys was splashed all over the streets and smoke was billowing from the rooftops in the Valley. While fingers remain crossed, the state has come to life once again. The hustle and bustle in the bazaars suggest that — one hopes the demons are kept at a bay — as if nothing has happened last year and the people have overcome the trauma of death and destruction.

The mood is so upbeat in the Valley these days that after the 80% voter turnout in the ongoing local elections, Muzaffarabad-based Chairman of the United Jihad Council and Supreme Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Salahuddin, was forced to declare: “The amalgam didn’t call for a boycott of the panchayat polls as these are for local self-governance.” Actually, his mentor Syed Ali Geelani had tried in vain to keep the voters away from the pooling booths, some candidates were even killed. And it is also for the first time that despite state government’s claim that some militants have crossed over, the army has declared that no infiltration has taken place so far this year. The declining trend of violence in the Valley seems to confirm the army’s claim.

What should a sensible government, knowing well that without a political initiative permanent peace in Kashmir is hard to come, do? In Kashmir, normalcy and unrest resemble a see-saw. A concerned dispensation would have consolidated the normalcy trend by finding a workable solution. The government is not expected to offer Kashmir on a platter to the separatists. Imaginative, practical steps promising to preserve the unique Kashmiri identity may help untie the Kashmir tangle. Regrettably, New Delhi hopes that grind of the time will pulverise the Kashmiri identity. Historically, that has never worked; it only deepens the contempt. So why is New Delhi oblivious to learning lessons from the history? Surely it knows that Kashmir is elastic, but it’s also unbreakable.

The writer is a Srinagar-based columnist and political analyst
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