In 2006, dystopian thriller movie, V for Vendetta was released. The genre of the movie- an adaptation of the works of messrs Alan Moore and David Lloyd graphic novel- was premised essentially on fear and the state. Or , how states, can exploit fear to maintain control in the name of safety and stability. The plot is set in London and the regime (government) in contention is called the Norsefire regime. After being elected democratically, the Norsefire regime capitalizes on several national tragedies and elevated its newly-elected president to the role of High Chancellor. In this dystopian future society, England exists in a world that has experienced virus outbreaks, plagues, crop failures, as well as numerous worldwide wars, including a civil war taking place in the former United States of America. This new Norsefire government has implemented numerous changes throughout most of England, including a new state motto: Strength through unity, unity through faith. Elevating vacuous patriotism and religious fundamentalism to new levels, the new government controls citizens through fear, intimidation, and conformity. The Norsefire regime has eroded civil liberties, imposed color-coded curfews, and eliminated cultural and religious diversity. There is no safe way to question the rule of the Norsefire regime. Political critics are detained and questioned.The government promises to protect citizens in exchange for their obedience.
The Norsefire regime asserts considerable control over many aspects of the lives of its citizens, and does so through the use of five key branches of the government. The Eye and The Ear are two branches of government responsible for spying on citizens. The Mouth is the Norsefire propaganda machine operating under the British Television Network (BTN). The Finger and The Fingermen represent the aspect of the government responsible for arresting, torturing, and disposing of problematic individuals. Finally, The Nose is the branch of government in charge of investigating enemies of the state and carrying out other detective work. Consequently, citizens are fearful of the government, but the Norsefire regime is fearful of internal corruption and loss of control over society. The basic organizational agenda of the Norsefire party is to assert itself as having more and more control over society, while simultaneously appearing to be interested in protecting the stability of society and the safety of its citizens. Thus, the Norsefire regime seeks to maintain control through fear, propaganda, and intimidation. The five branches of government assist in achieving this social control, and it is against this totalitarian backdrop that an anarchist hero, known simply as V, emerges
V for Vendetta could well have been written or set in Kashmir. A recent incident or event, the arrest and slapping of draconian charges on separatist leader, Yasin Malik, JKLF chief validates this. Malik who staged a protest at Lal Chowk to condemn the cold-blooded murder of the mother and son at Kalakote in Rajouri district on Friday was arrested soon after.Police then booked the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairmanand some other leaders of his partyfor attempt to murder and waging war against the State,. Though Malik and others were arrested on Friday -December 25, 2015-, the FIR mentions their date of arrest as December 26 (Saturday).
The slapping of these charges on Malik is not an example of state overreach but of state vindictiveness and vendetta. The separatist leader, it could be said, has been the most active in protesting against the Government and the missteps or misdemeanors of the Government. The obvious aim of the Government, it would appear is to silence Malik by slapping draconian charges against him. While the charges may not hold in a court of law given their disproportionate import and a clear cut disconnect between the nature of the act by Malik and his cohort and the charges, it needs to be pointed out that the government appears to be bent on shutting. Malik out from public view and consciousness. This stems from his persistent and continuous harping on the Governments missteps and misdemeanors. Malik may have a certain ideology that is anti-state but this does not mean that he does not have a right to protest. He has. The right to protest is an established right and there are obligations on states regarding stop, search, detention and arrest of protestors. The injunctions are clear in this regard:
No one should be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with procedures that are established by law, based on reasonable suspicion of the person having committed an offence, or when it is necessary to prevent their committing an offence or fleeing after having done so, without resorting to excessive use of force. All arrests, detentions and any subsequent trials should be carried out in accordance with both formal and substantive rules of domestic and international law, including the principle of non-discrimination. They should be free from arbitrariness, in that the laws and their application must be appropriate, just and foreseeable, and must comply with the due process of law, including the right to access a lawyer at all stages of the judicial proceedings, the right to adequate time and facilities to challenge the decisions, and the right to cross-examine witnesses.
Given these clear cut injunctions and a right to protest, why has Malik been charged? Why has the state used law as a tool of intimidation and fear? The answer is obvious and it roughly corresponds to the theme of the movie, V for Vendetta. The wants stability at any cost; it is guilty of underperformance, bad governance and a massive sentiment of anti-incumbency has developed against it within months of government formation. The state then is fearful and is taking recourse to fear to silence its opponents. The state does not want the tenuous and parlous conditions that obtain in the vale of Kashmir to erupt into mass protests- which is fine from the states perspective. It wants stability at all costs and anybody who disrupts what the state holds to be stability will face the wrath of the state. Hence Maliks arrest. Given that Syed Ali Geelani, senior separatist leader , already stands incarcerated( house arrest), it was Malik who took on the state. With the removal of Malik from the scene, the state then thinks it has sorted out its stability conundrum. But this view is as fallacious and illusory as can be. Stability in the vale is not contingent on the omissions and commissions of two individuals. A whole host of factors and themes-the broad based sentiment of separatism, bad governance, poor economic conditions especially after the 2014 floods and incidents like the Udhampur murder and what have you- feed into it. All in all then, the shutting out of Geelani or Malik who are merely emblematic and symptomatic of the sentiment in Kashmir will not amount to much. To the contrary, it can lead to further alienation in Kashmir. The state must not only rely , as the Norsefire government did, only on its organizational structures but common sense and prudence. This, at a time, of an emergence of a deep thaw between India and Pakistan, would mean and entail , activism of a nature wherein the representatives of the state become real representatives of the people and articulate the aspirations of the people in a way that redounds to be benefit of all stakeholders to the conflict in and over Kashmir. The fallout of this approach would be peace within and without-something the draconian incarceration of separatist leaders can only derail and disturb.
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