In the backdrop of recommendation by State government for removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Tripura the J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on May, 30 reportedly said at a meet at SKICC that his Government will achieve its objectives regarding revocation of AFSPA in J&K. On hoisting of Pakistani flags in rallies of various separatist leaders, Mufti blamed the media for giving the issue too much hype, but said the law would take its own course.
Mufti may be having best of intentions for the people of Kashmir / J&K / India, but politics is not for saints. It is amazing that Mufti with his long experience in politics does not understand the basics of politics of J&K.
As far Pakistani flags & slogans in Kashmir, will Mufti enlighten the people why Masarrat Alam is in jail for raising Pakistani flags and slogans in his meeting (which is merely exercising his constitutionally protected fundamental right of freedom of expression) and not Geelani, Mirwaiz, Shabir Shah etc for the same? It seems Mufti is differentiating between good separatists and bad separatists (as was naively done in Afghanistan about good Taliban and bad Taliban) and does not understand that discrimination in law enforcement always boomerang.
About AFSPA, without going into the reason for partition of India Mufti and similarly others cannot understand this problems in J&K. Notwithstanding propaganda by Hindu majority India that Jinnah and Muslim communalists were responsible for Indias partition, the fact of the matter is that Hindus did not want to live with Muslims. Hence both Hindu and Muslim communal forces (under Gandhi etc and Jinnah etc) were responsible for partition of India.
Communal forces can be suppressed by martial element only. Had blood of both Hindus and Muslims flown together (like 1857) for independence of India, the Hindu & Muslim communal forces would not have dared to even talk about partitioning the country. But being martially deficient Hindus did not raise guns against Britishers and Muslims did not do it because Hindus being majority community (hence major beneficiary in democratic independent India) were supposed to take the lead, which Hindus did not take.
Now it is pre-independence history. The same Hindu communal forces did not allow GOI to assimilate Muslim Bangladesh in India (because India is not secular which Kashmiris by this time must have realized at immense cost of their life, liberty, dignity and honor ) though two nation theory (the basis of Indias partition) collapsed in 1971 with separation of Muslim East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from Muslim West Pakistan.
In a nutshell Hindus do not want to live with Muslim Kashmiris (hence separate posh ghetto for Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir is envisaged by GOI) but here there is one catch. In popular perception (of Hindu India) Muslims inflicted huge injuries and atrocities on Hindus during last ~ one thousand years (including during 1947 partition). Hence Hindus are taking revenge on Muslims (through Muslims of Kashmir) by keeping hundreds of thousands of security forces equipped with AFSPA etc . Stories of excesses on Kashmiri Muslims come to the glee of majority of Hindus in India (even by quoting what Kashmiri Muslims did to Kashmiri Pandits) .
Everybody says that if security forces are deployed then AFSPA is necessary but nobody enlightens us why security forces are needed in J&K. These are needed because Kashmir problem is not solved. It can be solved if POK is taken (like Hindu Goa was taken by India) but Hindu India does not want Muslim POK. In a nut shell Hindu India will neither keep Kashmiri Muslims in peace in Kashmir (through security forces and AFSPA etc) nor will let them go out of India as separate country (or with Pakistan).
One more factor has complicated the matter. Even if GOI forgets POK and Government of Pakistan forgets Kashmir, Jihadis from Pakistan which, as per media reports, laid down the lives of ~ one hundred thousand Jihadis (from Pakistan, J&K, Afghanistan etc) for Kashmir will not forget Kashmir and in cooperation with Jihadis from J&K will continue to promote infiltration and terrorist attacks. This will always give reason even excuse to Hindu India to keep security forces and AFSPA in J&K.
Notwithstanding what is reported in biased Indian media or said by pusillanimous (English educated urban India, social activists etc) and some other saner voices (who all are in hopeless and minuscule minority in India) there is nothing more pleasing (sadistic) rather music to the ears of most of the Hindus in India than cries of helpless Muslim Kashmiris coming out of J&K. And this reality, the naive (and even cunning) Kashmiri Muslim politicians ( like Abdullahs etc of NC, Muftis etc of PDP, Lone etc of JKPC and others) will never understand.
In a nutshell (because territory is a military affair hence needs military strength to back it) theoretically there are only three solutions for Kashmiri Muslims:-
(i)- India becomes secular by taking POK with military strength of Indian Sate. This India will not do (because POK is Muslim populated unlike Hindu Goa) as is evident from the fact that so-far India has not demanded (from UN and P-5+1) the Pak nukes to be taken under UN control (which will facilitate retrieve of POK) lest these Pak nukes given to Saudi Arabia or ISIS (as reported in media)
(ii)- Pakistan takes at-least Muslim Kashmir if not entire J&K (with military strength of State of Pakistan even with the help from Jihadis). This Pakistan tried but failed and (given comparatively larger military strength of India) will never succeed hence this option is ruled out
(iii)- Muslims of Kashmir go out of India by demanding Independent Kashmir ( with military strength of UNSC) under the Trusteeship of UN (initially Israel was also under ‘International Trusteeship System’ ). Pakistan will also ultimately support it because like Bangladesh it will carve out another Muslim country from the motherland of Kafir Indians (Hindus)
In realizing this third and only option of Independent Kashmir (under UN Trusteeship), under the present circumstances Yasin Malik is in a best position to help Kashmiri Muslims. After giving-up militant approach, more or less Yasin has remained on the path of non-violent agitation for independence of Kashmir. Hence Yasin should pay India in the same coin. As India under Gandhi adopted non-violent movement for independence of India similarly Yasin should take-up non-violent movement for independence of Kashmir (along with POK) under UN Trusteeship. (If Yasin Malik does not take up this non-violent movement for independence of Kashmir then some other Kashmiri can do it)
If Government of J&K or of India resort to excess and cruelties on this non-violent independence movement then the help of independent and impartial media (like ‘Kashmir Observer’) can always be taken for highlighting it (by comparing it with British approach to non-violent independence movement of Gandhi).
Hem Raj Jain
(Author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’)
<[email protected]
Bengaluru, (Karnataka)
NOTE
Publishing a letter does not mean we agree with everything or even anything in it. Editor
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