Outsourcing Kashmir!

 Kashmir has an abundance of outside workers especially in the manual labour field. According to some estimates the number of outside workers is close to a million now. We have workers both skilled and unskilled from Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, Assam, and Punjab. There are also some from Rajasthan, Orissa and some other states. These people apart from working as domestic help work in paddy fields, on construction sites and so on. They work as carpenters, plumbers, mechanics and even as bakers and sweet/pudding sellers at different shrines. In fact, a large number of outside Moulvis lead prayers in many mosques. In winter some of these outsiders especially Biharis work in harissa shops! Even Kashmir’s traditional cooks Wazas are employing Biharis as additional hands.
Historically, Kashmiris were never so lazy. In fact, they were the hardest working people and had to toil day and night during various foreign regimes. In spite of the sweat and blood they gave, they still had to live in penury. They were the hard working tillers and did not own the land. Most of their produce was usurped by the rulers and they were left with meagre rations enough only for their survival. The situation changed in 1947 after the revolutionary legislation of giving the land to the tiller was enacted. Kashmir is the only place in the sub-continent where this unique step was taken during the regime of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah which gave Kashmiri the land whose ownership he had been deprived of for centuries. It was no less than the Russian Revolution but a peaceful one.
This step changed the entire social milieu in Kashmir. Once the Kashmiri peasant got his land he started working with full zeal to earn his livelihood with honour and dignity. Sheikh Abdullah wanted Kashmir to be self-sufficient and took certain unpopular measures towards this direction. Unfortunately, all these measures came to a nought when he was dethroned and arrested in 1953. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad who replaced him was given bags full of money by Delhi to bribe Kashmiris in every possible way. A deliberate and exhaustive campaign of character assassination was started and the notorious culture of subsidy was introduced making Kashmiris totally dependent on outside assistance. The story since then is the colossal rise of corruption in every facet of the society and complete dependence of Kashmiris in every aspect of economy and development.
After the dethroning of Sheikh Abdullah, the money did not start flowing only from Delhi but from Islamabad also! The two money streams have continued flowing since that time corrupting both the mainstream politicians on the Indian side and their opponents claiming to fight for a place of honour and dignity for the common Kashmiri. These streams have made corruption seep into the blood stream of a Kashmiri who would need dialysis to purify his blood! This easy money has also made him very lazy hating manual labour. In addition, the culture of government service was also introduced and the white collar job became the most sought after thing. Any government job at any level was taken to be a life time social security. Highly educated and technically trained people would prefer a government job at the lowest level rather than become a self-employed entrepreneur. It is a pity that we have almost a million educated unemployed but at the same time we have almost a million outsiders doing all sorts of jobs in Kashmir. The main reason being that there is no dignity of manual labour here!
Incidentally, the rulers here have themselves outsourced everything. Be it the power generation or even copying of the traditionally famous Kashmiri handicrafts now manufactured on a large scale in Amritsar. The word Kashmir has been misused with impunity all over the world. Apart from manual jobs, handicrafts and so on outsourced by general public, the government itself is leading everyone in outsourcing certain activities. In fact, the government has outsourced the maintenance of law and order supposed to be a state subject to central government. The Ministry of Home Affairs has the last word in everything concerned with the law and order and internal security. Similar is the case with the security forces who have unlimited and unquestionable powers for dealing with insurgency alleged to be sponsored from across the borders.
One often hears about the outsourcing of the Kashmir’s popular movement. Large number of political leaders and the common people emphatically plead for third party intervention in resolving Kashmir’s basic problem. Unfortunately, they fail to understand that the basic problem is their own and it is they who have to sort it out themselves. Recently, there has been loud thinking in some quarters about the Taliban coming to Kashmir after the Americans leave Afghanistan in 2014, to fight for its ultimate freedom. That would be the mother of all outsourcing and we may end up by taking back the valley to the mythological Satisar. We would need then a new Kashyap Reshi to kill the demon Jalobdhava and redeem the valley back to its inhabitants if there are any survivors!

The Incredible Omar

Sincerity and honesty demands positive action to uphold the truth. Merely proclaiming that one has discovered the truth does not help.

Omar Abdullah recently declared that "Kashmir may erupt any time. People in Delhi have misconceptions about cosmetic peace in Valley". According to him, "Kashmiris' patience cannot be taken for granted". Economic development and jobs will not end the problem. The basic political problem needed to be tackled. It was almost like jumping out of the bath tub and running naked shouting all the time "Eureka" like Archimedes. It was a discovery made by him probably nth time! Earlier on many occasions too he had been saying similar things. During the earlier visit of the Prime Minister he had declared in his speech that the Kashmiri boys had not picked up the gun for jobs. In the Parliament he had emphatically stated that the Kashmiris will not part even with an inch of land. Recently he declared that Article 370 can only be scrapped over the dead bodies of Kashmiris. During the current year he has made many statements which could be construed as rebellious. However, after following Delhi's dictates meekly for so long, it sounds hypocritical to now put all the blame on them. The good one is telling Delhi not to hoodwink Kashmiris! Well, Omar Abdullah did make a discovery but only half of it. One could ask him if he has also discovered that it is he and his ancestors that have been greatly responsible for bringing Kashmiris to their present state.

Apart from Omar Abdullah, many other mainstream leaders have started discovering that the main reason of discontent in Kashmir is the basic political problem. While Omar is publicly voicing these discoveries on a regular basis towards the end of his tenure, the other politicians are making these just a year ahead of the forthcoming elections. Bijli, Paani, and Sadak seem to be forgotten by one and all! This fooling of the common people is now a regular pastime for the politicians of all hues and shades. Kashmiris have been taken for a ride by one and all. A friend while discussing this problem remarked that we are ourselves prepared to be fooled again and again. However, according to him there is another catch in the situation. The people have so much suffered that behind every initiative from any corner they glimpse a ray of light which they think may be their ultimate salvation. But then they get let down and dejected.

In a sense, Kashmir has had never a revolution but only upheavals. For a revolution the first thing is a change in the mind-set. Revolutions occur primarily in the mind and are then physically manifested. These then give rise to leadership which brings these revolutions to culmination. The French had a revolution, the Russians had a revolution and the Chinese had a revolution. The only real revolution in Kashmir in its recent history has been in 1931 but unfortunately the leaders did not bring the revolution to fruition but left it halfway leaving people in total wilderness and chaos with no light at the end of the tunnel!

It is a historical fact that the outsiders have always utilised the local differences and issues to strengthen their hold on Kashmir. It is also a fact that in almost all episodes of foreign rules a section of Kashmiris has not only sided with the foreigners but have in the first instance been responsible for inviting them here. Be it the rule of Mughals, Afghans or Sikhs, it is the Kashmiris who went to invite them here. The Dogras got Kashmir on a platter. The same holds good for the present dispensation. The typical "Nettle Story" of Kashmir which says that "I brought the Nettle", "I sowed the Nettle" and then "Got bitten by the Nettle"!

Omar Abdullah's crying "Eureka" discovering the causes of basic discontent just before the elections may be forgiven as it is wont of all politicians to do so but the million dollar question is what is he going to do about it? He could not do anything for Bijli, Pani and Sadak because of the worst governance seen in last couple of decades. The power scenario last winter was deplorable and the worst seen for last few years. It is for the first time that there is power curtailment even during summer in Kashmir. It is reportedly being done under the Chief Minister's orders to save import of energy!

Doing something about the political agenda seems not only difficult but rather impossible in his style of functioning. His rhetoric without any concrete follow up action has made him "Incredible" like the famous tourism slogan the "Incredible India!" In case he is really serious, he does not have to run out of the bath tub like Archimedes shouting "Eureka!" but has to put on the clothes and take some positive steps. Otherwise he is like the school days fable in which the King is fooled by his advisors saying that he is wearing the finest silk, but a child shouts at him saying, "But the King is naked!"

Omar cries “Eureka”!

During our School days we used to read about the discovery of Archimedes Principle regarding the floatation of bodies in water. It is said that Archimedes was trying very hard to understand the basic principle which makes objects float in water. One day when he was lying in his bath tub, he suddenly realised that a body which is lesser in weight than the weight of water displaced by it, would naturally float! He jumped out of the bath tub and started running naked crying all the time, “Eureka!”, “Eureka!” which means, “I found it”.
Exactly, like Archimedes, Omar Abdullah recently declared that “Kashmir may erupt any time”!  “People in Delhi have misconceptions about cosmetic peace in Valley”. According to him, “Kashmiris’ patience cannot be taken for granted”! Economic development and jobs will not end the problem. The basic political problem needed to be tackled. It was almost saying “Eureka” like Archimedes. It was a discovery made by him probably nth time! Earlier on many occasions too he had been saying similar things. During the earlier visit of the Prime Minister he had declared in his speech that the Kashmiri boys had not picked up the gun for jobs. In the Parliament he had emphatically stated that the Kashmiris will not part even with an inch of land. Recently he declared that article 370 can only be scrapped over the dead bodies of Kashmiris. During the current year he has made many statements which could be construed as rebellious. However, after following Delhi’s dictates meekly for so long, it sounds hypocritical to now put all the blame on them. The good one is telling Delhi not to hoodwink Kashmiris! Well, Omar Abdullah did make a discovery but only half of it. One could ask him if he has also discovered that it is he and his ancestors that have been greatly responsible for bringing Kashmiris to their present state.
Apart from Omar Abdullah, many other mainstream leaders have started discovering that the main reason of discontent in Kashmir is the basic political problem. While as Omar is publicly voicing these discoveries on a regular basis towards the end of his tenure, the other politicians are making these just a year ahead of the forthcoming elections. Bijli, Panni, and Saddak seems to be forgotten by one and all! This fooling of the common people is now a regular pastime of the politicians of all hues and shades. Kashmiris have been taken for a ride by one and all. A friend while discussing this problem remarked that we are ourselves prepared to be fooled again and again. However, according to him there is another catch in the situation. The people have so much suffered that behind every initiative from any corner they glimpse a ray of light which they think may be their ultimate salvation. But then they get let down and dejected.
In a sense, Kashmir has had never a revolution but only upheavals. For a revolution the first thing is a change in the mind-set. Revolutions occur primarily in the mind and are then physically manifested. These then give rise to leadership which brings these revolutions to culmination. The French had a revolution, the Russians had a revolution and the Chinese had a revolution. The only real revolution in Kashmir in its recent history has been in 1931 but unfortunately the leaders did not bring the revolution to fruition but left it halfway leaving people in total wilderness and chaos with no light at the end of the tunnel!
It is a historical fact that the outsiders have always utilised the local differences and issues to strengthen their hold on Kashmir. It is also a fact that in almost all episodes of foreign rules a section of Kashmiris has not only sided with the foreigners but have in the first instance been responsible for inviting them here. Be it the rule of Mughals, Afghans or Sikhs, it is the Kashmiris who went to invite them here. The Dogras got Kashmir on a platter. The same holds good for the present dispensation. The typical “Nettle Story” of Kashmir which says that “I brought the Nettle”, “I sowed the Nettle” and then “Got bitten by the Nettle”!
Omar Abdullah’s crying “Eureka” discovering the causes of basic discontent just before the elections may be forgiven as it is wont of all politicians to do so but the million dollar question is what is going to do about it? He could not do anything for Bijli, Pani and Saddak because of the worst governance seen in last couple of decades. The power scenario last winter was deplorable and the worst seen for last few years. It is for the first time that there is power curtailment even during summer in Kashmir. It is reportedly being done under the Chief Minister’s orders to save import of energy!
Doing something about the political agenda seems not only difficult but rather impossible in his style of functioning. His rhetoric without any concrete follow up action has made him “Incredible” like the famous tourism slogan about India! In case he is really serious, he does not have to run out of the bath tub like Archimedes shouting “Eureka!” but has to put on the clothes and take some positive steps. Otherwise like the school days fable of the King supposed to be wearing the finest silk, any child can shout at him saying, “But the King is naked!”

MARTYRS UNDER CURFEW

The 13th of July in Kashmir has always been a popular day for paying homage to the martyrs who gave their lives in the first ever revolution against the foreign autocratic rule. One remembers right from the childhood what a festive and exciting day the 13th July used to be. Processions from all parts of the city as well as from outside used to go to the Mazar-i-Shuda to pay tribute. Those days the movement for Kashmir’s emancipation was still young and there was fervour all round. The long period of 82 years since the martyrdom of these brave souls of Kashmir has seen many ups and downs. The movement itself has witnessed many twists and turns. Kashmir had seen many rebellions against the external rule but the events of July 13, 1931 were a turning point. It was the first mass awakening against the autocratic rule of the Dogra Maharajas. The events have been well documented by the local as well as foreign authors. The protests starting against the desecration of holy Quran in Jammu had turned into a mass movement against the Maharaja’s autocratic rule.
The real trouble had started after the fiery speech of Abdul Qadeer, the butler of a British resident, at Khanqa-e-Mu’ulla. Qadeer was subsequently arrested and put on trial for sedition. In view of the popular upsurge his trial was shifted to the Srinagar Central Jail. The people were gathering near the Central Jail on the fateful day of July 13 demanding an open trial, when the Dogra soldiers fired on them killing 21 and wounding scores of others. The bodies were taken in a procession for burial and Maharaja imposed Martial law. The events snowballed and thus started the movement for Kashmir’s emancipation. The movement threw up the 25 year old teacher Sheikh Abdullah to become the charismatic Lion of Kashmir. Thus, this day is symbolic for the rise of the first real revolutionary movement in Kashmir. The spirit of those revolutionary days still lives in the hearts of Kashmiris and they have not given up their struggle in spite of the numerous somersaults by their leaders. In fact, it is rather their leaders who have let them down from time to time. The mission, that the martyrs had started, is still incomplete. Unfortunately, due to the betrayal of their cause by some of the leaders, Kashmiris have landed in worse situation than the one which existed in 1931. Those days they had only one adversary, the autocratic Maharaja but now they have two nuclear powers in a situation of perennial conflict to contend with!
The turmoil of the last two decades has given rise to Mazar-i-Shuhada in every nook and corner of the State. However, there are also thousands of Kashmiris who are buried in unknown graves in many areas of the State including in the vicinity of the line of control. There is an obligation on the people to pay homage and remember these unknown martyrs. The ideal way would be for the people to renew the pledge to carry their mission forward. There is no need to take out processions or indulge in violence. The martyrs have sacrificed their lives for upholding the truth which has become the main casualty in the present day Kashmir. The first thing we need at the moment is to demonstrate that we do have a character. That can be shown if all of us pledge to speak the truth and stand by it regardless of the consequences. This would be paying the best homage to the memory of all those who have given their life for our future. That is the most sensible way to take their mission forward!
There is a strange dichotomy in regard to these martyrs. It may be pointed out that these martyrs had risen in revolt against the Maharaja who is supposed to have signed the document of accession of the State of Jammu & Kashmir to the Union of India. In fact, it was this agitation in 1931 which had culminated into Quit Kashmir Movement of 1946 against the Maharaja. There is a contradiction in the celebration of this day by the mainstream parties especially the ruling ones as they left the mission of these martyrs half-way. How can they honour the persons who had risen against the Maharaja because of whose subsequent actions they are now enjoying the power? However, the mission of the martyrs has not been given up by the common Kashmiris. The proofs of the continuation of their mission are the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris who sacrificed their lives during last 82 years for achieving the goal of total emancipation. The number has gone up from 21 to thousands upon thousands. It is still increasing with every passing day. The action of the authorities in preventing paying of homage cannot suppress the aspirations of the people. It has rather increased their alienation from India. The resort to such draconian measures clearly shows that the authorities have failed to change the minds of the people. All revolutions start in the minds. The present day authorities are scared of the popular upsurge. They have, therefore, put even the graves of these brave souls under curfew! That is the best tribute to these martyrs whose mission as shown by this act is still very much alive and being carried forward!

Kashmir’s Home Prisons!

The word “House Arrest” has now become a part of the vocabulary in Kashmir. Almost every second day one hears about one or the other leader being placed under house arrest. For one person namely Syed Ali Shah Geelani it has become part of daily routine. One wonders whether he has spent any totally free days during last few years. There can be no other clever and very subtle way of curtailing one’s basic freedoms than to put a person in his own home asa prisoner totally cut off from the outside world. Neither the person can come out norcan anyone go in to meet him. This is the latest “SOP” (Standard Operating Procedure) invented by the security authorities fully endorsed by their political bosses. If a person is formally arrested under one or the other draconian laws presently available to the authorities for curtailing individual freedoms, he becomes a prisoner and has to be put in some jail within the state or outside. Once there is a political prisoner, media comes in to publicise the event and many organisation raise their voices against the curtailment of individual’s freedom such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and so on. Detention for political reasons for a long period may even make that person a prisoner of conscience. This happened in case of Shabir Shah who spent almost 22 years in prison and was popularly called during those early days, the Nelson Mandela of Kashmir.

The other leaders of the movement for “Azadi” like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Nayeem Khan, too have been imprisoned in their own homes from time to time. Some of them have also under gone long terms of imprisonment in regular jails within the state and outside. The formal detention or imprisonment is resorted by the government as a last resort. They probably feel that detaining a person in his own home does not generate such resentment as outright arrest would do. The plea often given is that this step is being taken to prevent any violence and disturbance which the free movement of the house arrested person may create if he is allowed to move around and address various congregations. The authorities can claim that they have not arrested any of the political leaders in spite of their treasonable and rebellious views and utterances. They also claim that these leaders have total freedom of speech and expression. The only catch is that they are totally free to speak to the walls of their own homes! The most these people can do from their homes is to issue calls for shut-down which too favours the authorities as it causes economic loss to common people and they get soon fed up.
Kashmir’s peculiar situation has given rise to many unique procedures for the maintenance of the so called “law and order”. The most famous in the recent times is the “undeclared” curfew. Curfew like restrictions are placed in entire valley or selected towns and the whole population is virtually imprisoned in their own homes but no magisterial orders are issued for the imposition of a formal curfew. The only announcement made formally is that strict restrictions on movement have been placed in different areas. No curfew passes can be issued as no formal curfew is imposed by a magistrate as required under the law. There are many other very subtle and hidden measures not part of any statute book which the authorities take to curtail the basic freedom. These inventions and innovations have come straight from the persons having a Kautilyan bent of mind.

One often hears about various discourses within the state or outside regarding the missing persons, the mass graves, and the scores of political prisoners under detention for decades now. However, there is hardly any mention about people under continuous house arrest. There is urgent need to bring up a discourse on this unique punishment of “House Arrest”. Even if the person stays in his own home with the family yet for all practical purposes he is a prisoner. Sometimes, the entire population gets imprisoned but they have a hope that the restrictions would be lifted sooner or later but the “House Arrested” persons continue to be imprisoned sometimes for months on! This not only generates extreme alienation and resentment but also hardens the particular stances the person may be having. The authorities in Delhi are either totally hypocritical or they want to frustrate and discredit the leadership other than the mainstream one. On one hand they talk of negotiations and democratic means for solving the Kashmir problem while on the other they ensure that the local leadership is totally stonewalled by either being imprisoned in their own homes or they are denied every opportunity of public expression of their ideas and programmes in peaceful democratic way. Interestingly, these days the mainstream leaders in view of the forthcoming elections, are loudly saying more than what the people imprisoned in their own homes are saying! Somebody ought to take notice of this Machiavellian strategy within India as well as abroad! However, one has to bell the cat locally and internationally! This can be done by the local media and the civil society if they feel it worthwhile.

Integration by tunnelling

Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently inaugurated India’s longest railway tunnel connecting Bannihal with Qazigund. It was termed as an important step in integrating Kashmir with the rest of India. It has been given out that a rail link between the Indian mainland and the Kashmir valley will fully integrate the two entities and practically endorse the Indian Parliament’s resolution about Kashmir being an integral part of India. Incidentally both India and Pakistan talk most of the time about the land of Kashmir and its integration with their respective countries. While Indians claim it to be their crown, the Pakistanis have been terming it their jugular vein! Unfortunately, the suffering inhabitants of this land of recurring tragedies are often forgotten. In fact, they are considered an expendable commodity in the ideological war between these two nuclear armed countries. In physical terms, Kashmir has always had the easiest linkage with the outside world through the Jhelum Valley Road. The Bannihal Cart Road came into being very recently during the Dogra rule. The events of 1947 cut off the Jhelum Valley Road, the natural centuries old link of Kashmir to the mainland of the sub-continent. The only link with the outside that remained was through the Bannihal Cart Road which was subsequently developed into a major two lane highway.
In spite of the best efforts of the Border Roads Organisation, it has been sometimes a herculean task to keep this virtual lifeline to the valley functioning, especially during severe winters. The road tunnel in Bannihal constructed over half a century back by German engineers has not posed any problem. The road very rarely gets blocked in this stretch and that too in the event of a very heavy snowfall. The real problem is between Bannihal and Batote especially between Ramban and Ramsu. The entire mountain stretch is of rotten loose rock, scree and clay. This is the main bottleneck. The rail link to mainland India would be successful only when Bannihal is linked to Katra. That goal is expected to be reached in 2020 if everything goes as per schedule? In spite of the most modern technology tunnelling all the mountains, it is doubtful if the link will remain open 365 days! It would be a fight against the nature. The most ideal link will always remain through the Jhelum Valley Road. In fact, in technical terms it would have been better to have an 8-lane motorway both to the valley and within the valley from one end to the other. If the Chinese builders could achieve such a feat in a more difficult mountain terrain in the other part of Kashmir by constructing the famous Karakoram Highway, why could it not be done on this side?
Well, with all the world class technical aids and experts, India may finally achieve full physical integration of the Valley of Kashmir with its mainland someday but will that solve the problem? The million dollar question is how to integrate the people of Kashmir with the inhabitants of the mainland India? In spite of a lapse of 65 years or so Kashmiris have not integrated emotionally, socially, sentimentally or spiritually with India. In 1947 they were confused and in spite of the assurances from their tallest leader and the promises of India’s top leadership, they were sceptical about joining India. The unusual circumstances put them in the lap of India. However, the events of the last half century or so instead of integrating them have drawn them further away and at the present moment they are extremely alienated. The happenings of last two decades full of brutal violence demonstrated the ugliest face of India to Kashmiris. Both the secularism and democracy touted as the most cherished attributes of the Indian Republic have proved hollow in regard to Kashmir. The impression of a typical Indian in the minds of Kashmiris is that of an armed Indian soldier they see all around on one side and a trident wielding violent Hindutva volunteer on the other. Rabindra Nath Tagore’s India where the mind would be free and the head could be held high is discernible nowhere. Instead, it is the India of Narendra Modi, Advani and Togadia!
In the immediate aftermath of the inauguration of the “Integration Tunnel”, Kashmiris witnessed the killing of two youth in Bandipora. Earlier also there were similar killings. The killings occurred immediately after the attack on the army convoy just before the VVIP visit. It appears that the young Kashmiri boys are being used for target practice with newly acquired Israeli night-vision devices! The present visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too gave a different message totally in contrast to his first message of “Zero Tolerance”. He virtually threatened to wipe out all signs of militancy. Probably he has given up his efforts to bring in Kashmiri youth into the Indian mainstream and has joined the Hindutva bandwagon of integrating Kashmir with or without Kashmiris? The news of “Educated Militancy” is very ominous for India and may represent early signs of a new uprising more deadly, more violent and more determined? It is more so because of the impending withdrawal of Americans from Afghanistan which is forecast by many analysts to have an impact on Kashmir situation. One can only hope that good sense prevails and instead of only physical integration of the land, there are sincere and honest efforts to win over people democratically to solve the decades old festering problem of Kashmir politically!