Kashmir- The indignity of being second class citizens at home. By Siddiq Wahid
NB: While more detailed comments on the ongoing drama will emerge soon (I presume), our news anchors may kindly remind themselves and their audiences that Article 370 cannot be revoked by the GoI; such a step would require a constitutional amendment. This is why even the current Presidential Order has been issued under Article 370: read the first line of the notification. Art 370 refers to a State not a Union Territory. So long as Art 370 exists in the Constitution of India, the State of J&K exists. Here is an article by Dr Aman Hingorani on the legal implications of the latest decision.
Moreover, while Ladakh enjoys representation under the current situation, it will be deprived of representation under the new proposals. DS
Moreover, while Ladakh enjoys representation under the current situation, it will be deprived of representation under the new proposals. DS
Even for Kashmir, which is all too familiar with the murkiness that
accompanies government activity here, the last two months have been testy. In
early June, immediately after the Lok Sabha elections, J&K Bank, arguably
the last of the state’s autonomous institutions, saw its Chairman summarily
ousted and called for questioning to New Delhi under the rubric of corruption.
Since then has disappeared from professional view. There was a deafening
silence about this slapdash action, apart from furtive rumors that the bank,
the state’s symbol of fiscal self-reliance, would be
merged with State Bank of India or some other nationalized bank.
Then in late June there was a sudden and well-advertised deployment of
the military. The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave was to begin on July
1, so more and better fortified bunkers arose all over the valley. Apart from
the militarization of the pilgrimage, there were not-so-subtle messages that
did not go unnoticed by the everyday Kashmiri. Several private airlines
announced to pilgrims that their vehicles would have GPS locating devices.
Within days, one fifteen-kilometer stretch on the highway saw the number of
bunkers increase from twelve to twenty-two. In the city, road repair crews
suddenly swung into action. After-winter potholes were rapidly repaired, white
and yellow traffic lines were freshly drawn and diligently placed signs
welcomed and directed pilgrims at each fork in the road. Worse, long lines of
local public and private vehicles were stopped to the sound of rude whistles
and threatening batons as pilgrims’ vehicles sped through towards their
destination.
While any genuine anti-corruption drive is something that would be
welcomed by the everyday person in Kashmir (J&K Bank is not unfamiliar to
severe complaints) the manner of the offensive (that of bypassing its Board of
Directors and its inbuilt systems) of the offensive against it felt more like
an assault on the state’s collective self-respect. A similar logic of reaction
would apply to our roads being repaired and our traffic policed; however, it
was palpable that the patch-ups and regulating were meant for pilgrims, not
Kashmir’s resident citizens who have to endure bad roads and their non-policing
for most of the year. The punitive actions against the J&K Bank and the
extraordinary military deployment were a call to witness the Central
Government’s justification for demonizing Kashmiris.
The combination of rumor-mongering and indirect slights in June morphed
into the objective of instilling uncertainty and fear in July. The month began
with a BJP functionary declaring that the government would unilaterally
abrogate Indian laws, edicts and contracts in relation to the J&K state.
Some time later, ten thousand additional troops were airlifted to Kashmir, with
another ten thousand anticipated soon. Yet another anxiety inducing event was
the leak of a memorandum (since denied by the purported author) addressed to
military personnel and others to evacuate their civilian families and to stock
up on food, medicines and other essentials in anticipation of [presumed]
violence.
The buzz as to the reasons for the opacity surrounding this
tittle-tattle has ranged from Delhi’s determination to illegally abrogate laws
to war with ‘a neighbor’ to the imminent announcement of Assembly elections. It
is significant that neither the Home Minister nor the usually garrulous Office
of the State Governor have silenced the rampant speculation.
Some, probably many, in the BJP government are satisfied at being told
that its tactics have managed to create a mood of fear and trepidation in
Kashmir. Not so much fear of state violence as of protests and the taunts those
elicit from the security forces. And not so much trepidation at disruption of
our daily routines as the youth’s determination to defy. As recent history is
witness, whether provocation by the military or anxiety on the part of
empathizers, the Kashmiri youths’ reaction is not likely to be benign. Meanwhile, the government’s aim, having subdued much of overt protest
since after the Lok Sabha elections, appears to be to inure Kashmiris to what
it sees as “normal”: look for jobs and sell our wares. It would then like to
ask what it is that the Kashmiri wants. The simple response to that question, which has been very overt and loud
is, of course, “azadi”, or “freedom”.
The more complex answer in the current context is that they want to be
rid of the indignity of being exiles in their own home. This is done each time
they are made to wait like second class citizens so the military can pass; each
time their roads are repaired for the military before the citizen and each time
their vehicles are searched and their bodies made suspect.
What Kashmiris want governmentally is to be rid of the secrecy that
plagues their political lives. It has created and fueled rumors like the ones
mentioned above and has introduced whataboutery in statecraft in the form of
psychological operations or “psy-ops”. Confidentiality in statecraft is
understandable and acceptable. But the difference between confidentiality and
secrecy is that the latter stinks of conspiracy. They are well known to
Kashmiris. These practices need to change too.
The government claims that it wants to “normalize” the situation in
Kashmir. To do that it will need to treat the land and its people with dignity
and transparency. From Kashmir, it looks like a difficult task.
https://www.outlookindia.com/
https://www.outlookindia.com/
See also
