[Reader-list] Solving Amarnath: New Hope in Kashmir

[inder salim]

now, the real threat is BJP
which is trying its best to manufacture Ayodhya like crises for a
fradulent return to
power



On 7/2/08, Kashmir Affairs <kashaffairs at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
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>
>
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> Solving
> Amarnath: A New Hope in Kashmir
>
>
> Murtaza
> Shibli
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>
> [www.kashmiraffairs.org]
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> The bold decision of the Congress government
> led by Ghulam Nabi Azad in Srinagar must be commended. By revoking the land
> order to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) that was illegal at the first
> place, Azad has not only shown great courage and decision making skills to deal
> with a crisis that was spiralling out of control, a la 1990, but also taken
> both the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the fledgling separatist movement of
> the Hurriyat Conference off the guard, who were using the land issue to
> manipulate public mind. Though the order came late; it has, however, not only
> diffused the crisis, but also shown for the first time in recent decades, that a
> crisis in Kashmir could be solved through bold and timely political action. It
> also demonstrates to the Kashmiris that by resorting to non-violent action,
> there is a room for manoeuvre and things can be changed through peaceful means.
> Baring few incidents of stone pelting and burning of tyres, the massive
> demonstrations were totally peaceful, without any involvement of the militant
> groups, and without any communal flavour despite propaganda by various quarters
> including mainstream Indian media. Sadly, the state response was not that peaceful;
> five innocent lives were lost during the ten day demonstrations. However, by
> Kashmiri standards, it could be classified as measured and therefore a change
> from previous years, when the paramilitary forces would kill dozens on small or
> no provocations. Incidentally, this is first such massive crisis in the last
> two decades that has been solved peacefully and decisively, in public favour, taking
> everyone by surprise.
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> Another very positive aspect that emerged
> from this stand-off is that the Pakistani government maintained a studied
> silence on the issue, thus not only keeping the spirit of reconciliation
> between the two countries alive, but also showing maturity by not succumbing to
> the pressure from the traditional hawkish elements within the establishment when
> the temptation was real.  This also
> prevented any wild claims within the Indian government or Hindu militants to
> blame Pakistan for a role in the crisis. Though, the Pakistani silence
> irritated the United Jihad Council chief Syed Salahudin, who called it as 'surprising',
> it was in the right spirit of peace that the two countries have embarked upon.
> Successful dealing of the crisis demonstrated that if the right and positive
> decisions are taken, keeping in view the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, it
> is possible to deal with crises without involving Pakistan. It also bought
> another stark point to the fore – that Pakistan is not always involved in all
> the crisis in Kashmir; a paranoia that has swept across the Indian
> establishment and offers an alibi to the politicians and security establishment
> for their systemic or judgemental failures or biases.
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> The peaceful outcome also shows that if the
> promises and commitments are followed in the right spirit, there is a room for
> massive improvement in the situation without employing more than half a million
> troops and two dozen secret agencies.  If
> the promises like 'zero tolerance for human rights violations' made by the
> Prime Minister Manmohan Singh more than two years ago would have been observed,
> the Kashmiri population would not have felt so distanced or disconnected from
> the peace process that is now running in the fifth year. In addition, the economic
> development of the Kashmir valley suffers massively either due to the massive
> presence of the Army and paramilitary forces or the unspent millions that lye
> wasted in the government coffers mainly due to the political rivalry between
> the coalition partners – People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress; the
> tussle added vitriol to fire caused by the current crisis, as the PDP tried to
> capitalise on it despite being an equal partner in 'crime'.
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> In a classic act of political opportunism, the
> PDP that was part of the cabinet decision that allowed the illegal transfer of
> land to the SASB, decided to withdraw the support and blame its coalition
> partner Congress for the whole issue. Only days ago, Kashmir's Forest Minister,
> Qazi Mohammad Afzal, who belongs to the PDP openly boasted about his role in
> effecting the land transfer. But when the public reaction grew, the PDP not
> only withdrew support, but also issued public statements that sounded like
> racial epithets designed to inflame the public opinion and hence provoke and enlarge
> the constituency of protests and violence.
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> The use of religion for political ends is not
> new in south Asia. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the patron of PDP, has previously also
> been accused of creating communal tensions for his electoral gains. In 1986,
> during his time as Congress chief of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Sayeed allegedly engineered
> communal riots against the Kashmiri Pandits in Anantnag district in which half
> a dozen temples and homes of Hindus were damaged. This afforded Congress a
> plausible reason to withdraw support from fledgling Ghulam Mohammad Shah government,
> which was manufactured through defections from the National Conference at the
> first place courtesy of Mufti Sayeed. Later, in 1990, when the massive public demonstrations
> engulfed the Kashmir Valley, Mufti, as the Home Minister in the VP Singh government
> deliberately sent Jagmohan as governor making it difficult for Farooq Abdullah
> government to function. Farooq resigned and Jagmohan got a free ride employing state
> terror that gave rise to massive militancy – a phenomenon that still costs
> lives in Kashmir. Perhaps Mufti Sayeed was wishing to witness the repeat of
> 1990 to feed his insatiable desire for power, but the timely action by the Azad
> government diffused the situation successfully, leaving him lost and vulnerable.
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> Buoyed by the success and free from the
> fetters of PDP conditionality, the Azad government has a huge task ahead. The
> winter capital of the state, Jammu, has been virtually taken over by the Hindu militant
> groups who have been attacking the government buildings, offices of the
> political parties and threatening economic blockade of the Kashmiri Valley. The
> government should not only deal with situation wisely, but also make sure that
> no anti-Kashmiri rhetoric or action is allowed that will feed into the agenda
> of extremist vision of a civilisational clash. It is hoped that all the political
> parties will discard electoral opportunism and mount joint efforts to initiate
> serious peace efforts. The successful handling of Kashmir's current crisis
> offers a hope and a chance for the Congress government at the Centre to build
> on this bold decision and work towards a final and durable solution of the
> problem.
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> The writer is a security analyst based
> in London. He is also editor of quarterly journal Kashmir Affairs and
> webportal www.kashmiraffairs.org
>
>
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