Who’s responsible for the current Kashmir Situation?

Kashmir is once again on the boil. Lot of innocent Kashmir blood has spilled on the streets of Kashmir. The anti-India sentiment is on the high once again. The recent strategic change of public protent from bullets to rock-pelting has gained momentum. The result is heart rending. More than a dozen budding youth have been killed in action. Curfew is imposed in almost whole of Kashmir and Army actuated to help the civil administration.
The situation is nothing new for Kashmir. Such incidents have recurred many a time in the recent years. Last year it was Swami Amarnath Shrine land row and the Shopian incident that incited a widespread anti-India protest. It seems that the separatist movement has become an organized industry that is helping many people both in Kashmir and outside. The socalled leaders of separatist movement have gained a lot out of it by becoming the most sought after leaders of Kashmir. The Government of India has made them VIPs by inviting them frequently for talks over the Kashmir issue and allowing their frequent visits to various countries including Pakistan and meeting important dignitaries there.
It’s no secret that our neighbouring country Pakistan is actively backing this whole mess which has now turned to be a fully organized anti India movement. Pakistan has fought three wars over Kashmir and has everytime failed to grab it by force. Now she is fighting a proxy war against India in Kashmir by creating terror and exploiting the religious sentiment of innocent Kashmiris. It started in early eighties when lots of Kashmir youth were forcibly taken accros LOC and pushed back after brainwashing and training them in the use of all sophisticated weapons. It was a part of a well thought over plan to take final cudgels with India. They worked under the orders of their masters from across the border. The first step was to cleanse Kashmir of all pro-Indian elements including Kashmir Pandits. The common Kashmiri was confused but no one could raise a voice for fear of gun. Those who ventured were instantly gunned down by calling ‘Mukhbirs’.
With the passage of time things improved and the masses in Kashmir began expressing themselves openly by taking part in elections and sending their representatives to the State Assembly and Indian Parliament. It was after a long time that the real sentiment of a common Kashmiri was expressed openly that the Kashmiri in his heart of hearts was not anti-Indian and he wanted peace and prosperity above all. Pakistan in general and the separatist leaders in particular seemed thus isolated and they sat down to devise newer plans and strategies to fan up the innocent sentiment of a Kashmiri. These hawks of politicos are always on a look out for a cause so that the common man is intigated to come out on roads to protest and shout slogans against India and keep the pot boiling for their ultimate personal benefit and not at all out of any sympathy for the masses.
This time they discovered a novel way of protest which would involve the maximum people in the protest against India and cost almost nothing ----- stone pelting with or without any reason. It had the desired effect. A group of youth go on pelting stones on a security post and in order to save themselves from injuries the men in uniform chase them away and if they resist more forcefully use Lathi-Charge, tear gas smoke or even firing if the situation so demands. Now in the case of a casualty it becomes a cause for more protest and lot of sentiment from the bereaved families and all cross section of people.
This’s what has been happening in the recent past that gave rise to the present volatile conditions in Kashmir. The vested interest comes out to blame India and its forces of brazen arrogance and sheer misuse of force. How far is it justified is for the readers to decide with an open and unbiased heart? The security forces do not enter the homes of people to harm them. They use force in their self defence. Their presence around the residential areas is necessitated just to maintain law and order in the circumatances and when they’re compelled to use force how are they expected to act as lambs of sacrifice for the stone pelters?

Kashmir and Lord Shiva (Shiv-Ratri special)

Kashmir is the abode of Lord Shiva. The presence of the Lord is dominantly felt everywhere in Kashmir. Every nook and corner suggests the glaring presence of the Lord in one form or the other. Besides the abundance of man-made temples there’re numerous mysterious spots and places that indicate to the live presence of Lord Shiva. The world famous Swami Amanath Swami Cave Temple is the prime example. Kashmir Shaivisim is a significant contribution to the spiritual world. Shiv-Sutras of Vasu Gupta are said to contain the basic tenets of the philosophy. The contribution of the great poet-scholar of Kashmir Abinav-Gupta who wrote and practiced extensively about the Lord is tremendous. Lalleshuri (Lal-Ded) was the first Kashmiri mystic and poet who taught in the simplest language of common man the comprehensive secrets of Shaiva philosophy with such an impact on the listeners that her poetic compositions (vaakhs) were preserved and carried through generations as a sacred word of the Lord. And strangely her impact on the people of Kashmir has crossed all bounds of religion, caste and creed. Next in the line is the famous Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali also called Sheikh-ul-Aalam or Nunda-Rishi who also sang the praises of Lord Shiva in his very popular poetic compositions (Shrukh). A number of other Muslim Sofi poets of Kashmir have sung numerous immortal songs in the praise of Lord Shiva. They include besides lots of less renowned, Shah Gafoor, Rahim Saeb, Shamas Faqir, Samad Mir, Ahad Zargar and Ahmad Batwari. The immortal songs of these mystic poets, far above the discrimination of faith, have created the unwavering faith among masses that only Lord Shiva is the prime diety of Kashmir. One more glaring example worth quoting is that of Ali Mardan Khan, an Afghan Governer of Kashmir and a devout Muslim who had a strange dream in which he saw Lord Shiva along with his royal consort riding a bullock. The impact was so great that immediately in the morning he wrote his famous poem in Persian, “Humaan asl’e Maheshwar bood / Shab Shah’e ki man dee’dam ----” describing the strange aspect of the Lord that he saw in his dream and singing His praises. The other immortal songs written in the praise of the Lord that dominate among the Kashmir Pandits especially are sung by numerous KP mystic poets notably Pandit Parmanand of Mattan and his disciple Laxman Ji. Krishna Joo Razdaan of Vanpuh, the famous poet of numerous devotional poems is also the poet of the famous Shiva Leela --- “Bell'e tay Madal Vaine gulab -----” sung and rendered to beautiful music by the Kashmir legend Ustaad Tibat-Baqaal quite popular among all Hindus and Muslims equally.

HAIRATH --- 2010

The sweet fragrance of Hairath is again in the air. KPs are celebrating Hairath on 11th Feb and Salam on 12th, the day of Maha-Shivratri or Shiv-Chaturdashi. The 21st year of our displacement from our paradise Kashmir has moved on and the prospect of our return to our beloved home seems equally bleak. Neither the authorities nor we have been able to do anything about it and the nostalgia goes on deepening with its impact creating lot of frustration and stress in our ranks.The years that went by have recorded many surprises both inside and ouside Kashmir, both with those who’re out and those who continue living there. Kashmir has shown tremendous progress with the development of all modern civic infrastructures including the first train movement on its soil. The government of India has been providing thousands of crores year after year to the State for her maintenance and development to keep her above par the other states of India with her own resources not more than ten percent of her requirements. The situation there is showing considerable improvement on its face though with a slight jerk of an event or two the separatist elements those’re always on the lookout for a cause to come out and exploit the situation to their fullest. The recent Swami Amarnath Ji land row and the Shopian agitation, when looked honestly into were nothing beyond a political stunt triggered by the forces to invite world attention to a big news in Kashmir. This’s a clear indicator that the authorities both in Delhi and Kashmir are not able to devise and adopt a suitable strategy to bring the situation under control on the one hand and winning the hearts of the masses on the other. India has unfotunately failed to counter the propaganda of our enemy forces with her naked truth in the diplomatic fora. Our weak administration has frequently been propelled into fake dialogues by the biased international community with the separatists in Kashmir and especially with our tormenter country Pakistan though the results are always known before their commencement. The most unpleasing aspect of the whole affair is the criminal sidelining of KPs and taking their misery of displacement for granted as if they’re quite comfortable and enjoying pleasantly their pain and suffering.
Our own leadership ranks are exceeding day by day in number and decreasing in quality and influence. That’s the reason we’ve not been able to give the administration a fight capable to force then solve our problem of settlement on its merits. A considerable number of our brothren are still living in most inhuman condition in camps in various cities especially Jammu. A good number of our youths are suffering for want of resources for a respectable vocation and our elderly are suffering from a strange deprivation syndrome and disease hitherto unknown. Lots of our people suffered untold miseries of disease and death in an atmosphere quite unsuitable to them. We’ve lost our roots, our language, our peculiar culture, our customs and above all our sacred individuality.The most cogent and justifiable demand of KPs for the creation of a separate Home-Land ‘Panun-Kashmir’ within Kashmir with a union territory status has not been able to gain an effective ground with the administration only because our voice is not capable to break the corridors of their power or influence. Ours is no vote-bank capable to invite the attention of the seekers of power in elections. The only qualification that we boast of and which has made us stand on our legs so far is our academic and technical brilliance. Our youth are shining in every field of work and vocation with their brilliant performance of hand and head and the result is that we find their sprinkling presence in all high and low corridors of corporate world everywhere throughout the globe.
The people at the helm in Delhi have in the first instance blundered drastically by not giving strict directions for stopping the mass migration of not less than half a million KPs in a single go from Kashmir in 1990 by making all security arrangements for them urgently at any cost and subsequently by not taking instant and effective measures to make possible our immediate return to our homes without losing much time to safeguard the national interest first and our individual rights second. Now much of water has flown down the rivers of Kashmir and the conditions have deteriorated substantially and our return has become much more complicated than before. The authorities have never tried to judge the situation on ground that all the traces of India in Kashmir are gradually dwindling and the local administration though sworn by the constitution of India does not discourage the trend for fear of losing public support in their favour. All traces of Hindu culture that were present in abundance in the valley are dwindling day after day. All important Hindu installations in the form of temples and names of places etc are being encroached upon gradually such that almost all Hindu flavour that existed in the valley before 1990 is missing. The fundamentals of the policy for continuing India in Kashmir is essentially to strengthen sincerely all available Indian elements there on priority but the authorities have miserably failed in this important function. The Kashmir Pandit (KP) was the strongest pro India force in Kashmir that belonged to its soil and his absence from the scene has given a severe blow to the Indian influence in Kashmir. Our administrative machinery is probably unaware of this important fact or is deliberately shying away from this important responsibility towards the nation.
Let’s still not lose hope and wish for a better future and take a vow on this auspicious Hairath to work with renewed strength and force to regain our lost Paradise, Kashmir ---- Tatha-Asto.