Sajjad Haider - What the nation really should want to know about Kashmir (but is afraid to ask)
The numbers tell the
story. At least 43 civilians are dead, 1,948 suffered injuries – 1,744 were
discharged, 204 continued to be treated – in 566 incidents of violence reported
from Kashmir valley since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani
on July 8, as per official numbers given by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
during a debate in Rajya Sabha on July 18. Unofficial figures are
even higher. A large number of
those dead and injured are in the age-group of 15-25.
ABVP under fire as a Sikh student is beaten up after being mistaken for a Kashmiri in Hyderabad
ABVP under fire as a Sikh student is beaten up after being mistaken for a Kashmiri in Hyderabad
The number of those
who have been blinded or have partly lost their vision in clashes between
security forces and protestors is yet to be fully ascertained, but is estimated
to be close to 100. Life remained
paralysed for the 11th day on July 19, with curfew still in force and people
forced to stay indoors, virtually under house arrest, with children, elderly
and sick remaining the most vulnerable.
Shoot at sight orders
have been in place, work places shut, schools closed and labourers –shikara-walas, taxi drivers, hawkers, roadside vendors – remained without their
daily wages for the 11th consecutive day, forcing many to forego their daily
meals. On Friday, a student
in Bangalore called in distress, pleading for help as he had run out of money
and could not contact home. But, back home, all banks are closed – including
ATMs.
The government did
announce a slew of measures, including a helpline for medical emergencies. But
then, all mobile phone services, barring state owned BSNL, have remained
suspended. Net result: you cannot communicate. Mobile internet had
already been blocked, including on the state owned BSNL. And from Saturday,
July 16, onwards, local newspapers too have been ordered shut. It is like putting a
lid on a pressure cooker. Besides, surely those
in power know that absence of information, or the lack of it, leads to rumours
and more conflict?
Let them eat cake
But wait, there is
24x7 television, they say. If there is no bread, why can't they eat cake? Besides, these TV
channels speak a different language. Their Television Rating Points, or TRPs as
they are called, come not from seven million caged people but from a billion
plus thriving nation of patriots who hate any thing “anti-national”.
It would seem, in
their reading, as if here in Kashmir valley all you have is a people gone
crazy. They vent their anger at anything symbolising the Indian State. And
increasingly these misguided – rather, guided from across the border – people
break the law by violating the stifling curfew and hurling stones at these
symbols of the state.
These symbols include
poor men from the Central Reserve Police Forces, most of them involuntarily
drawn into the vortex of a complex political mess that is Kashmir. There are also cases –
yes, 100 odd cases, as per official figures – of young men who have taken to
arms, just like that 22-year-old Burhan Wani, whose killing on July 8 was the
trigger for the ongoing unrest. So, obviously, “the
nation needs to be told” the reality of the people gone crazy. The people who
do not want to be part of an emerging global power must – most certainly – be
out of their minds.
Question time
But the nation also
asks some questions sometimes. Questions like: Why do
these people hate us even after 69 years of largesse and special status? But the answer is
predictable: Oh, that? This is the job of the rogue state next-door, jealous of
India’s rise. Well, they have been hell bent on disturbing our peace ever since
they came into being.
Next question: What
have we been doing to undo their mischief?
Answer: Make Kashmiris
behave. Yes, behave. Impose extended curfews to stop them from falling in the
trap. Block free flow of information as that may include propaganda as well.
And, of course, allow access to a few select channels operated from Delhi so that the people are fed the “right information”. And don’t panelists on these channels – mostly non-Kashmiris, of course – talk endlessly and often argue on the merits and demerits of giving free choices to Kashmiris? After all, Kashmir is not like any other Indian state. it is a “sensitive” state.
And, of course, allow access to a few select channels operated from Delhi so that the people are fed the “right information”. And don’t panelists on these channels – mostly non-Kashmiris, of course – talk endlessly and often argue on the merits and demerits of giving free choices to Kashmiris? After all, Kashmir is not like any other Indian state. it is a “sensitive” state.
As one panelist put it
succinctly. “You should have dumped the body of that 22-year-old “terrorist”
anywhere, instead of giving it back to his family.” He meant this would
have robbed those two lakh “misguided” people a chance to attend the funeral
they all turned out for Or, to put it simply,
rob them of an outlet to vent their anger and frustration.
In the course of
debates, no one asked this simple question: Why have so many people come out to
grieve for Burhan? What did he do to achieve that status?
Rights and wrongs
The right course of
course also includes blocking the “wrong” information.
Thus the range of TV
channels Kashmiris are allowed to watch these days are representative of a
country of diversity, the nation of India. All sorts of choices are available
including Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Hindi, English, Urdu.
But not Kashmiri.
Kashmir, perhaps, is
the only place left in the 21st century world which does not have a satellite
channel of its own. I have to struggle
hard to brief my inquisitive elderly mother of the developments as she does not
understand these languages. And, of course, there
is no question of a TV channel dedicated to Kashmir where you have Kashmiri
panelists discussing Kashmir for Kashmiris.
Obviously, the hapless
population is forced to watch channels they are offered and watch helplessly as
it is the prerogative of the channel editors to decide whom to include in the
discussions, if at all there are any, on Kashmir.
After all, Kashmir
does not fetch many TRPs, and as one producer told me last year there is not
much Bollywood thing happening in Kashmir either these days. And when Kashmir
indeed becomes news, it is always bad news and the nation does not want to hear
that anymore.
People in the
corridors of power in Delhi do not want to hear that either. There are, after
all, enough CRPF and other armed forces personnel dumped in Kashmir to take
care of the restless population. And they have been doing their job the way
they know. After all they are not trained in the school of politics.
I was asked by a
senior western diplomat during a recent chat about my take on what could be z
solution for the Kashmir dispute. I said let Delhi treat Kashmir at par with
other states, half of the problem will be over. Rest they can take care later. But, alas, they don’t
understand Kashmiri.
Sajjad Haider is
Editor-in-Chief of Kashmir Observer.
He can be reached at sajjad.ko@gmail.com
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