More than two months have already passed in utter confusion and chaos which has already claimed around a hundred precious lives and left thousands injured or maimed for life. The situation in Kashmir is no better than a country under siege after a war as here too the common people are helpless and at the mercy of the forces. Kashmir has been turned into a highly militarised zone in which the common people have no rights and no freedom.
The state Government, despite its tall claims, has failed on all fronts to control the situation or to bring peace to the valley. All they do is try to earn our trust and our votes by using rhetorical speeches. The irony is that the same state coalition which claimed to bring stability to our region is in utter confusion, lacking vision and objective to normalise the current situation. The ruling government, through its myopic vision and parochial approach is imperiously licensing the use of brute force. The 5% theory which was propagated vigorously by the State run Government backfired in the worst possible way as instead of helping calm the rising temperatures in the valley, it only escalated them. All means and measures taken by the state government so far to control the present situation in the valley have failed and have further escalated the violence in the valley.
The failed leadership which used every trick to malign the present movement at first, surprisingly changed their rigid stance to secret meetings and writing pleading letters to the separatists to come to the negotiation table. This was followed by an emotional melodrama and shedding of crocodile tears. This elucidates the fact that our present leadership is devoid of any vision or direction and is more representative of hereditary political lineage than anything else. The anarchist approach towards the people is sowing seeds of discontent and brewing widespread anger among the common masses.
The present rule has not only destroyed the state economically but has alienated not just the present but the future generations as well. The delegations and the all-party conferences are only a time buying method till the Government figures out new means to befool the gullible masses of Kashmir. While the Government is using new tools of hoodwinking the people every day on one hand, it is also trying to reign in various stakeholders to crush the present movement in Kashmir. This notion is further solidified by the fact that instead of finding a solution to end the miseries of the people, the Government is focusing on looking for alternate weapons which can be used instead of pellet guns to tame the masses of Kashmir. The present issue is being looked at through a prism of law and administrative disorder rather than focusing on the core issue which can easily be resolved through meaningful political dialogue. The way in which the State leadership and its various stakeholders are dealing with the present situation in Kashmir will only lead to more chaos, hatred, and distrust. It will only result in more bloodshed, destruction and power vacuum in the state.
The Indian state should understand that it can’t win the hearts of the people of Kashmir through mere debates, propaganda, media trials and demagogues. The Kashmir problem can only be resolved through a meaningful dialogue including all the true stakeholders of the society. The people of Kashmir should be allowed to exercise their rights. We should be allowed to voice our views and opinions. Let the students, entrepreneurs, farmers, social workers and journalists be allowed to gather their views and opinions without any restrictions and compulsions. The caged leadership, gagged media, choked and locked up society will only fuel more rage and will give rise to more resistance. If the percentage theories and hypocritical overtures are kept aside, the solution to the present conflict will certainly be found. If we stop to think in terms of nations and borders, the walls of hatred will surely be shattered and Kashmir will once again be the beautiful place it once used to be.
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