Srinagar: The Hurriyat Conference (united) has issued yet another calendar that stretches beyond Eid-al-Azha. It is now more than two months, after the killing of popular militant commander, Burhan Wani, that calendars have been issued diligently. It needs to be stated here that people have followed the calendars scrupulously. But now since it has been more than two months, the obvious question that strikes the mind is that is there a strategy beyond calendars?
On the face of, this does not appear to be the case. The aim of the calendars appears to be to prolong and stretch the protests as much as possible. But as history, especially Kashmir’s recent history demonstrates, protests even of an intense nature have a shelf life. And this time, by and large, peoples’ expectations are high. This is one reason people have supported whole hog the protests.
Given the fact that prolonged and intense protests have shelf life, and momentum, why does not the Hurriyat have a play beyond? We cannot answer this question but what we can state is that people’s inputs and ideas should also figure in the protests and their denouement. This makes sense because, at the end of the day, it is people who are bearing the brunt of the protests- quotidian killings, economic and financial costs and even psychological ones. This assumes saliency at a time when essentially what is called the season by the business community in Kashmir is drawing to a close with the onset of autumn and then winter- a time when things come to a standstill in Kashmir economically given the severity of the winter.
The Hurriyat must understand this and devise a plan that takes into account all these factors.
The ongoing protests have affected every section of society. We have paid a price in terms of precious lives lost, property damaged and other allied costs such as educational ones, and psychological ones. The times in Kashmir are delicate and their very nature warrant a well thought out and prudent strategy that is both effective and efficient. Moreover, an end goal should also be in sight. If the protests 2016 remain inconclusive, then people’s energy and will get dissipated. The end goal must be in the nature of a stakeholder approach that is win win for all stakeholders- something that rebounds positively to the benefit of all stakeholders to the conflict in and over Kashmir. These should be the broad contours of a potential resolution. The specifics can be worked and fleshed out later. However, if the protests continue with a strategy and planning deficit, then it would not require a stroke of genius to figure out their denouement. And if this denouement happens after people are exhausted and there is nothing tangible to demonstrate, all might be in vain. This, in the final analysis would constitute a tragedy.
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