Kashmir stasis: religion

Dispassionate and disinterested view on Kashmir is not easy to have even for a self effacing person. Even Justin Hardy in the end of her new book In the Valley of Mist says that the situation is so desperate that people like her would give a helping hand even when they overhear the local people remarking about the foreigner as a non believer. She has worked there longer and knows better than many others, particularly the ones who are well ensconced in the comforts of the five star hotels. Stone pelting has not killed any police man but the police have killed nearly eighty five people overwhelmingly young ones. Stories are galore of brutality including the security forces attacking ambulance carrying civilians injured in police retaliation. This intense hatred is very disturbing and is not area specific: Coimbatore riots 1998 where Hindus stopped ambulance and killed the injured Muslims who were carried to hospital. In 1986 anti-reservation violence in Gujarat the extremists turned it anti Muslim and threw Muslim patients from higher stories of the hospital building to their death on the concrete below.
Ram Jethmalani is a committed right wing politician like LK Advani. The senior lawyer and a former law minister says that Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s hatred of Indians is on account of his religious conviction. He has dubbed him as “intentional abettor of murder”. The stone pelters are supported by the people “in the pay of Pakistan of whom Geelani is the leader.” He should be incarcerated in a jail far away from Kashmir. “Jeelani is just a Hindu hater by his religious conviction who does not know the real Islam of the Prophet of the majesty of its core teaching (Free Press Journal, September 3, 2010)
Religion is going to play a much larger role than anything else. The meeting at the house of LK advani on Sunday September 12 night assumes significance. Advani can keep his silence over Jharkhand but not on Kashmir where the people agitating for freedom happen to be Muslims. BJP’s demand not to dilute the AFSPA is their old policy of opposing what they generally call appeasement of minority Muslim. Jethmalani calls Jeelani mortal enemy of Kashmir. The Kashmiri Muslims as well as the Muslims in the rest of India have had their mortal enemies and the recent history is replete with them and their deeds.
Former governor of JK Jagmohan’s role in the induced migration of the Pundits of the valley by opening state largess to them is well known. Now he is calling for harsher crackdowns on the protestors. Thanks to these he is the distinguished guest at the RSS meetings. Cultural nationalism has the hardrock bottom of religion. Unfortunately the Kashmiri Muslims do not make a part of it.
It is but natural the vitiated communal atmosphere in the country cannot brooke anything. Jagmohan thunders “Don’t turn back the clock in JK.” The centre has spent 95 000 crore on Kashmir since when he was governor in 1989-90 to 2009-2010. (AA September 7 & 8 2010) BJP the political configuration of the Hindu right is very calculative: “whole nation is anxiously watching as to which vision prevails in the CCS meeting on Monday.” (Sack Omar, but don’t dilute AFSPA:BJP to PM, Express News Service September 13)Now the CCS is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. The Hindu right does not want to either spend such huge amounts on Kashmir under Article 370 or have any political solution. What do you have still left, then?
Sanity. Moderation. Yes these are with some people. Prakash Karat sounds quite holistic in his approach to Kashmir. He met the PM on Sept 4,2010 and asked him to remove the Disturbed Area Act from the urban areas so that Armed Special Power Act would also go. The last act had made the security forces use excessive power that led to the death of more than sixty youths. He also made sure that the bed rock for any solution will have to be maximum autonomy recognizing the identity of the people and the special status of the state. Reviving economy and a political dialogue is necessary. Removing bunkers and reducing security forces will also help ease the situation. (Karat urges PM to hold talks on J&K sans precondition TNN, Sep 5, 2010)