KASHMIR SITUATION

Sunil Sethi on Kashmir Problem Kashmir Problem

As happened during the height of the insurgency in Punjab, part-time militancy has become a paying vocation for unemployed and disgruntled youth. When there is nothing better to do, one way of getting rich quick is to start playing with guns.

Countless Kashmiri families are beginning to crack up under the strain of six uninterrupted years of militancy. They are fed up, they feel trapped, and they don't see any way out. The worst affected are people in the tourism business; that sad line up of empty houseboats on the lake in a constant reminder of their blighted future.

If Kashmiris are so sick and tired of what they're going through, people outside the Valley invariably ask, and if they so badly want a normal life, why won't they come out in hordes like the people of Punjab and vote for a new life? For years the answer to that question used to be that it was because the Kashmiris, more than most Indians, have been remorselessly betrayed by elections stage-managed by New Delhi; and also because they were ruthlessly exploited by the capricious alliances forged between not one, but two, dynasties since Independence-assessment of the situation and advise their Missions, and the Abdullahs and the Nehru-Gandhis.

Now there are interesting shifts in the answer that make it, if more problematic, then also fascinating. More than (ever before) most shades of Kashmiri opinion, and that too after Charar-e-Sharif, tend to favor India as opposed to Pakistan. All manner of ordinary people, shopkeepers, policemen or housewives seemed to shudder inwardly at the thought of joining their Muslim brethren across the border. The cry for azadi has peaked.

Kashmiris at the vanguard of the political leadership made no secret of it at all. Even those golden oldies of the Hurriyat Conference that ragtag alliance that claims. to be the voice of the people yet fails to speak in a singular voice - such as Prof. Abdul Ghani and Abdul Ghani Lone, who used to be thought of as pro-Pakistan, have now tempered their views. They are no longer against the return of Kashmiri Hindus when their younger colleagues openly speak of that exodus as a grave injustice. Today, the only common but vaguely- defined demand among Kashmiri leadership is the right to determine their political future.

A couple of things determine the shift in attitude: most Kashmiris are Sunni, the essence of Kashmiriyat is Sufi, a tradition seriously at odds with the fundamentalist doctrine dominant in Pakistan. It is one reason why Pakistan has been forced to reverse its strategy in Kashmir, of political mobilization supporting a guerilla war rather than the mujahideen leading a jihad.

Kashmiris find Pakistan's disunities much more frightening than India's; may privately reject the idea of Islam as a super glue that will lead to a quick fix solution. Nor is the cry for azadi as unanimous as was, say, two years ago. A political solution is the only way out but now lies buried in a horrendous Catch 22 situation: New Delhi says talk of autonomy is possible with an elected government, elections are off, and the leadership, badly splintered in Srinagar demands autonomy first. And no one is ready to define autonomy.

(Source: The Pioneer, 2 July, 1995)

Government Statements on Foreign Commandos

Of the six foreign tourists abducted by the militants in J&K in July 1995, one had escaped, one was killed and the remaining 4 belonging to UK, USA and Germany are still in custody of the militants. Government have been making all efforts to bring about their safe release. In keeping with the policy of transparency, close liaison and contact has also been maintained with the officials of the Missions (concerned) and their officials have also been facilitated to visit Srinagar. In the process, Government has also agreed to the presence in India of experts of these countries to enable them to make their own different persons have, at different times, also visited Srinagar in this context. Government has also welcomed any advice and suggestions that may be given by them. and has facilitated interaction by such persons with officials of the State Government and the concerned Security agencies, including the Army. However, at no stage has there been any direct involvement or interference by officials/experts of these countries in the actual handling of the situation, nor have they been deployed in any kind of regular or formal manner.

 (Source: LSUQ No. 3581 dated 20 December, 1995 by G. Fernandes)

On 'Foreign Experts' in J&K

"In keeping with the policy of transparency, close liaison and contact has also been maintained with the officials of the missions of the countries whose nations were abducted, and their officials have also been facilitated to visit Srinagar.       

In the process, the Government has also agreed to the presence in India of experts of these countries to enable them to make their own assessment of the situation and advise their missions, and different persons have, at different times, also visited Srinagar in this context. The Government has also welcomed any advice and suggestions that may be given by them, and has facilitated interaction by such persons with officials of the State Government and the Security agencies concerned, including the Army. However, at no stage has there been any direct involvement or interference by officials/experts of these countries in the actual handling of the situation, nor have they been deployed in any kind of regular or formal manner"

(Source: The Hindu, 24 December, 1995)