Since Prime Minister Modi has come to power in 2014, India has outsourced its Kashmir policy to Indian Security Forces and jingoist Indian media and its commentators. One has to watch most of the prominent TV Channels (both English and Hindi) especially after July 2016 when Hizbul Commander Burhani Wani was killed and one can find retired security persons from military and expert on defense and strategic matters, hard core communalists from Hindutva forces like RSS, VHP, BJP etc who all pounce on Kashmiris on the panel and castigate these Kashmiris for their so-called anti-national views and activities.
These hapless Kashmiris and their separatist leaders (like trio Geelani-Mirwaiz-Yasin, Shabir Shah etc) are accused 24×7 in media of having links with terrorist organizations like LeT, JeM, HeM etc and even with enemy Pakistan. If anything is done against law then government should of-course take legal action against such Kashmiri offenders, but sedition laws should not be misused by government and stone-pelters should be arrested and should not be fired upon by trigger happy security forces of India under the protection of AFSPA. Hapless Kashmiris are also accused that most of the Kashmiris are not interested in separation, independence and very few Kashmiris are agitating for these objectives. But India has forgotten that.
Very few Indians participated in independence movement of India rather most Indians cooperated with and benefited from Britishers all along up to independence in 1947.
When almost half of J&K (which is PoK including Gilgit, Baltistan) is with Pakistan for the last 70 years, obviously J&K is a disputed territory. Hence Muslim Kashmiris who are working for the independence and separation of Kashmir will naturally have contacts with the government and people of Pakistan.
Britishers never arrested the members and office bearers of Congress (including Gandhi, Nehru, Patel) for the active support Congress gave to freedom fighters (terrorists as per Britishers), so crudely and brazenly. Britishers even allowed Congressmen and their supporters to fight the cases, for these militant freedom fighters, in various civil and military courts. While accusing Kashmiris, India should not forget links of non-violent Congress with militant Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose etc.
To what low extent India has stooped is evident from the fact that presently commentators in prominent print and electronic media are demonizing Hurriyat leader Geelani for getting a letter for humanitarian assistance in 2011 from life sentenced Afzal Guru who then was in Tihar Jail Delhi. Many Indians were against capital punishment to Afzal, because they are against capital punishment to any one hence were offering humanitarian assistance to Afzal.
Even I believe that capital punishment should be only for those who physically kill someone. Hence when I was in Delhi I wrote a letter to Afzal, with a copy to Delhi Police Commissioner, offering help to him in getting legal assistance for filing review petition in Supreme Court for reducing his sentence from capital punishment to life term imprisonment. I also offered legal help in filing writ petition in J&K High Court / Supreme Court for allowing family members of Afzal Guru the dead body of Afzal to be taken from Delhi to Srinagar for burial. But India presently is demonizing socio-political leaders of Kashmir (like SAS Geelani etc) for helping someone in prison regarding human rights of the sentenced and his family.
In view of the above mentioned, India should understand that unnecessary demonization of Kashmiris will further alienate practically the entire Kashmir. Hence instead of showing paranoid attitude and behaviour, which is bound to harm India irretrievably, India should retrieve PoK, even militarily if required, without any further delay so that gory and chronic Kashmir problem can find an effective and permanent solution.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
ACT NOW |
MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |