It is now increasingly apparent that the separatist duo- Yasin Mallik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq- appeared to have been released by the state in an effort to break the impasse that has descended upon Kashmir. Neither Mallik nor Mirwaiz, however, did or said anything that could break the logjam. Given this, the state has rearrested the duo. The release did not serve as the quid pro quo that the state expected. The context to the release and then the re-arrest is the so called “ Track II” initiated by some prominent citizens and public officials and the meeting with stakeholders that the separatists initiated. What does all this mean for Kashmir and Kashmiris?
Given that “Track II” has essentially failed and the state has re-arrested Yasin and Mirwaiz, the inference that can be drawn is that the state will “tighten the screws” , so to speak. That is, the state will take a hard posture and stance vis a vis both the separatists and those found or deemed to be involved in what is left of the protests. This approach will come at a time when a degree of fatigue has set in among people re the protests. Given that there will be few or negligent number of people enforcing the protests, they may die down at some point in time and “normal” life could resume in the vale. This, however, would constitute a Pyrrhic victory for the state. About 92 people have died in the protests, thousands injured and hundreds left blinded – all overlain by thousands of arrests. While many people would like to get on with their lives, but there appears to be an undercurrent of resentment, alienation and bitterness amongst the people- especially the youth of Kashmir. This alienation and resentment bubbles under the surface of Kashmiri society and can take any form and shape in the future.
The inference that can be drawn here is that when the so called normalcy returns to Kashmir, the state will sit atop a society that will be increasingly and more intensely estranged from it. The only recourse for the state would be to increase its powers and disbursal of patronage and patronage driven politics will be the name of the game. Disembeddedness of the state from society will mean and entail a Kashmir working at cross purposes with itself. This state of affairs, complemented by more intense and growing alienation on part of Kashmiris will, in turn, mean a combustible mix. Kashmir will be then like the proverbial bale of cotton that simmers underneath and all it would take for this bale to burst into flames would be a spark.
How, the question is, can Kashmir be actually and really normal?
The key take away from protests 2016 is that Kashmir is unsettled and disturbed and all that is needed for Kashmir to erupt is a catalyst. Curbing, checking protests means treating the symptoms and not the actual issues. The real issue is the conflict in and over Kashmir. Past approaches of containment and management of the conflict have not worked. The lesson is that the real issue- the conflict in and over Kashmir- must be resolved, to use KO’ hackneyed suggestion, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. There really is no way out other than this. Let powers that be take this lesson to heart and institute a paradigm that redounds to the benefit of all. All other approaches are ephemeral and ethereal.
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