Political manifestations from 1947 till date.
With the accession of the state to India in 1947 immediately followed by the abdication of the Maharaja, J &K transited from monarchy to democracy. The fulcrum of power shifted to the people through universal franchise. The primacy of the power balance ,in consequence ,shifted to the valley in view of its bigger population than the combined population of Jammu and Ladakh regions. Kashmir's political voice thus became dominant in the state as well as the centre drowning the aspiration of the other regions leading to a constant state of unease and struggle and by the events in the valley in the subsequent years ,the distrust between the regions is on the increase.The Kashmiri mainstream polity want autonomy, Jammu wants a seperate legislature and abolition of the art.370 articulating unconditional central authority and Ladakhis want a union territory status. The Kashmir region is Muslim majority ,Jammu Hindu majority and Ladakh a Buddhist majority with such separate interests endangers communal polarisation of the state. When seen in context of the enmasse eviction of Kashmiri pundits from the valley in 1990s, the matter needs solutions in a calm but resolute manner, so that all the regions get a just and fair deal. Our national integrity demands it.
The events in the valley since 1947 are known world wise and need not be revisited except briefly to enumerate the nuances as under:
1. Pakistan tried and failed to annex Kashmir valley in an open war three times since 1947 but failed.
2. Bhuttoo's warning of bleeding India at thousand places was not a joke of a maverick but threat of a very determined enemy.
3. After getting convinced that open war with India could not win Kashmir for them, Gen.Zia-ul-haq, got plans drawn and put to action to create and infiltrate a gorilla militant force into the porous cease -fire line into the valley through scantily used mountain passes and trails while the local authorities remained either ignorant or inactive. The first wave of these trained militants (called mujahids) were sent only to locally create active and underground cadres of Muslim mujahids by using any possible effective methods: indoctrination, coercion,fear, and money . The pipeline of carriers of arms,ammunition,explosives into the valley was put in place and guides and escorts for taking the new local recruits across the border for on ground training in Pakistan- occupied Kashmirand West punjab ,indoctrination to jehad , and switch from their hereditary trades to becoming guerrilla warriors engaged in a holy war. It is paradoxical that this monster could not be nipped in the bud. History will judge us very harshly for this monumental lapse.
4. Lack of decisive strategy to deal with Pakistan who was (and still remains ) the sole perpetrator of crimes in Jand K till a core group for jehadi militancy with full infrastructural support from their extremists from both within and outside the govt, was put in place . Many different groups sprung up locally in conjunction with groups from across who always formed the senior hierarchy in the command structure. For their finances ,apart from foreighn funds through the hawala channels they resorted to extortion, protection money ,donations from sympathisers, and cells created in offices for contributions on payday for the 'cause'
5.The overt and covert assistance in terms of planning and stratagising for sustenance and continuity by different extremist organisations in Pakistan with support of theISI.
Over the years all this developments in the Muslim majority areas of the state led to the state being put under special powers act for the security forces and subsequent quelling of militancy resulted in lot of collateral damage of life,limb and property. The abuse of these powers in stray cases led to further deterioration of peace ,which is being exploited by the vested interests for whom the persisting with frequent disturbance of peace is a profitable occupation . Inspite of people's strong desire for peace , they keep the pot of turmoil burning.
Keeping this strife continuous , they have managed to inflict a colossal damage to the very basic concept of ethnic tolerance and tranquility which was a bye-word called 'Kashmiriyat' . The people have braved bullets to maintain a democratic system . Pakistan has been successful in bleeding India at any place it chooses with impunity because of its geo-political situation in view of conflicting interests of America and China,which it is exploiting to its hilt. Any other nation with brazen support to exporting terror would have been brought to its knees in the world forum.
In order to have a stable peace in the state, the rule of the gun has to be extinguished and the extremists have to be contained politically. A terrorist and his sympathiser should lose his constitutional rights when a crime is proved against him. Over all these years , kashmir has witnessed heavy loss of life and property and trust between communities and regions. Kashmiri Pandits got evicted from the valley which is their motherland.
The intentions of Pakistan have always been inimical to our interests and being aware of this fact ,the situation urgently calls for setting our own house in order and work out a solution (taking all the stake holder's genuine and constitutional interests) which stands the test of time inspite of never- ending attempts of sabotage by the fringe reactionary elements(planned under-ground and executed by their stooges on ground). Recently, a team of interlocutors was sent to the state by the centre ,which has submitted its report after debates and discussions with all different social,community and political groups to find avenues for a permanent peace in the state. All the politicians need to rise above their narrow partisan interests to come to an agreement on the issues and remedies ,take immediate action to satisfy the aspirations of all the regions and communities with a sense of purpose and determination. The reactionary elements should not get any mercy and need to be dealt with realistically . Our actions should speak for people to trust us. We owe it to loss of life of about a lac of people(civil and military) and loss of their homeland by 300000 Kashmiri Pandits.
When we settle our internal disputes to our satisfaction , we can sternly deal with the evil designs of our neighbours . We have to be seen as a nation who always seek a non-military solution with them but can take firm action if and when required .
