Political and Economic Notes
Exercise to Evade Main Question
Kashmir continues to be in
turmoil. The Indian rulers had spent
best of their energies and time in
using the methods of suppression
and divisive, diversionist tactics
rather than initiating a single move
to infuse confidence in the Kashmir
people that the Indian rulers are
serious about the aspirations and
rights of Kashmir people and would
honour the promises made by
them to the people. Ever since the
BJP led regime at the centre and
the PDP-BJP coalition govt in
Kashmir had come they are doing
everything to show that they are
committed to continue the same old
policies. In Kashmir, while the PDP,
which is totally dependent on BJP
for the survival of regime, is going
out of the way to please the BJP,
BJP is going all out to strengthen
its position by deepening the
communal division and antagonism
among the people.
The experience of Kashmir
people in the last two decades
alone is too bitter. This is what a
youth in Kashmir has said to a
writer: In his childhood, they
(security forces) searched (their
homes) for militants. As a teen
ager, they saw them searching for
the militant informers. As he
entered adulthood, the Amarnath
land agitation broke out in 2008,
and the valley saw pitched stonepelting battles. The counter
insurgents got a new enemy, the
stone thrower. Their sorties barged
into homes, looking for “suspected”
stone throwers. In 2009, Kashmir
again shook with the alleged rape
and murder of Neelofar Jan and
Aasia Jan in Shopian district. Their
bodies were found in an apple
orchard. The locals had accused
the CRPF encamped nearby of
raping and killing them. “Since then
we are concerned for our women”
December 2015
....For a moment he appeared
disturbed, his voice turned grave
and said “Anything can happen
here”. The ordeal did not end there.
A year later in 2010, another
agitation hit the state. This time, it
set off after the Army claimed to
have killed three “Pakistani
infiltrators” in North Kashmir who
later turned out to be the residents
of Nadihal villages. An army officer
ganged up with a local informer
and a counter insurgent and killed
the three young men in a staged
manner so that they could earn
cash rewards and promotions?
This story continues even
today. Vast areas in Kashmir
continue as disturbed or sensitive
areas. They are kept under the
heel of Army armed with special
and draconian powers under the
AFSPA. Thousands continue to
groan in jails under various criminal
and cooked up changes or PSA.
The people live in terror,
atmosphere of insecurity and
deprived of normal life. With no
means of livelihood, no jobs, and
no democratic rights and with
growing burdens of life they find the
life too miserable. The youth are
suspected or hounded as militants
or as their supporters. Many find
the life suffocating and feeling of
alienation is growing strong among
them.
In this situation, the Kashmir
people in general and the youth in
particular are choosing different
forms to ventilate their grievances,
anger and protest at the state of
affairs. The tendency of defiance
is growing strong among the
people. Various protest movements
in Kashmir are erupting only in this
wake. The people are not scared
to tags like “Pro-Pakistani”, “militant”,
or “separatist” being attached by
the govt. Or security forces. It
seems that the people, more
particularly youth are increasingly
considering it as a matter of honour
to fight for justice and being called
as anti-establishment.
An incident that occurred in
Kulgam district recently is one
example for this. On Oct 30, 2015,
the police sought to bury Abu
Qasim in Bugan village of Kulgam
district in south Kashmir. According
to police, he was a Pakistani
militant who master-minded
Udhampur attack and also killed
After Dar, a well known counterinsurgent in an ambush in the
forests of north Kashmir. The
moment the news of Abu Qason’s
scheduled funeral reached tens of
thousands of people has reached
the spot and took out a massive
funeral procession. Most of them
were youth of age between 20-30
years. The youth from adjoining
districts too came in cars, mini
buses and m