Coming back to my observation |
flexibility Kashmiris had shown. |
the decision to hang Afzal is purely |
as to why Kashmir was buried in |
From 2003 onwards the people had |
political and taken at the level of |
Tihar. The decision to hang Afzal, as |
supported the peace process be- |
Congress core committee. Accordis |
now clear, was purely political |
tween India and Pakistan, though |
ing to insiders, the top brass of Army, |
since Congress was feeling the heat |
with limited benefit to Kashmiris in |
Intelligence Bureau, and Central Reof |
Modi march to Delhi in 2014. But |
the shape of Confidence Building |
serve Police Force have argued |
could they take a similar decision a |
Measures. But it was to show that |
against this decision apprehending |
decade back to keep BJP at bay for |
they are for peaceful settlement of |
serious trouble in Kashmir, but the |
the electoral gains. Perhaps not. It is |
the issue and want to take active part |
political weightage has over shadactually |
the confidence New Delhi |
in that process. It is ironic that Con- |
owed their“ advice” and plunged the |
has gained over a period of time that |
gress“ apparently fell into the trap” |
place into the crisis. |
they could take any“ risk” in Kash- |
of Bhartiya Janta Party ' s continued |
Kashmir may revert back to normir |
. Looking closely at this decision, |
tirade and succumbed to the situa- |
malcy though nothing can be anticiit |
is an unquestionable fact that the |
tion in order to ensure that they are |
pated at this stage. But those who |
Congress led UPA government no |
back in the saddle in 2014. But it is |
believe that it will not push into a situlonger |
looks at Kashmir through the |
BJP ' s stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
ation as it did after five years of |
prism of political exigency but |
who is seen as a peace maker in the |
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation |
purely as a law and order issue |
Front founder Maqbool Butt ' s |
|
which can be dealt with the rein- |
hanging in the same month in |
|
forcement of few thousand more |
same jail in 1984 are wrong in |
|
Para military forces. By taking |
their assessment. It may not push |
|
Afzal to gallows, Congress might |
another generation into violence, |
|
have won the“ hearts” of Indian |
but at least the generation that has |
|
voters, but it has shut the doors of |
grown after 1990 will identify itreconciliation |
|
at least for some |
self with Guru and the rest one |
|
time. Even if Kashmiris were |
will follow. The hanging will igready |
|
to move forward on the path |
nite a sense of renewed disilluof |
|
peace and reconciliation, New |
sionment and alienation. Today ' s |
|
Delhi has shown that it does not |
generation is not as naive as it was |
|
care much about that. It has virtu- |
in 1984. They are well educated, |
|
ally dismissed the sentiments in |
articulate and politically more con- |
|
Kashmir with contempt by going |
scious of their political rights. |
|
ahead with Afzal ' s hanging. Not |
They are unarmed and it is diffionly |
|
has the hanging a potential to |
cult to contain them through the |
|
have a long term impact on the psy- |
methods, which have been used in |
|
che of Kashmir youth as sug- |
the past. Kashmiri students agitatgested |
|
by Omar Abdullah, but the |
ing at Jantar Mantar in Delhi is |
|
way the family was denied the last |
enough to learn a lesson about |
|
|
meeting with him has hurt a common Kashmiri to the hilt.
The decision of hanging has purely come at the cost of Kashmir.
A place battered with conflict is yet to recover from the wounds inflicted on its population. Still it had shown the courage and resilience to compromise with the fact that normalcy
was an important tool to sustain the economy, though not at the cost of the political aspirations. While the
GoI was“ celebrating” this“ normalcy” by projecting 85 percent participation in Panchayat elections and arrival of 1.4 million tourists in
2012, it failed to encash on this wave
|
region. His former adviser and RAW chief AS Dulat has said that if it would have been Vajpayee, there was no possibility of sending Guru to gallows. He was also disturbed at
the fact that this situation has pushed the Valley back by many years.
There was an overwhelming demand from various quarters in India, including the various human
rights groups, for commutation of
Guru ' s death sentence. In hindsight,
had it indeed been commuted to life sentence, it could have proved a ma- jor confidence building measure for the valley.
|
how volatile the youth can be in this age. In 1984 there was none to agitate against Butt ' s hanging in
Delhi and not many even in Kashmir but this time the only option with the government to quell the strong re- sentment is to barricade the Valley and put it under long spell of curfew.
If they do not have problems with
New Delhi ' s decision vis-a-vis Kash- mir then why this long siege? Politi- cally they did bury Kashmir in another grave in Tihar but it has a les- son for the government to learn and not just merely see it as an end of an offender who helped militants attack the parliament.
|
and rather“ misused” this sense of |
If the sources are to be believed, |