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It is August 24, 2008
It is curfew time in Srinagar, the capital of Indian Administrated Kashmir. Most individuals are staying indoors and the environment is considered one of eerie silence. A loud scream piercing the silence originates from the road operating byGhulam Qadir Hajamâs home, deep inside a maze of slim lanes. Hajam knew it was his son Mohammad Yaqoob who had simply stepped out to fetch milk for getting ready the afternoon tea. Anxious, the 70-year-old native barber first asks his different son Hilal to verify. The screams develop louder now and he decides to exit as nicely.Moments later, heâs shot useless in chilly blood. The CRPF males opened fireplace at him, just a few meters exterior his home. His son, Yaqoob too was hit with bullets and each are battling for all times. Hilal is clueless as to what crime his father and brother had dedicated, to get a spherical of bullets within the chest. As Hilal is crying on the highway, an ambulance takes the folks in direction of the closest hospitalâŠ.
It is October 24 1947
The clock is now shifted again by 61 years. It is a chilly autumn night time on twenty fourth October 1947..Maharaja hari singh, ruler of J & Ok is merrily having fun with the competition of lord Shiva in his palatial palace within the presence of his commanders and ministers. This competition is outstanding for its colorfulness and vivacity. However, on the identical time, 100 Miles away a person is busy lighting the fuse of some gelatin sticks covertly positioned in the primary chamber of the Mohra hydro electrical energy station, constructed on the banks of river Jhelum. Just a few seconds later, a thunderous noise erupts and your complete energy station is lowered to rubble. The aftershock of the blast might be felt 100 miles away from the facility station, when all of the lights went out in Srinagar. Out of the blue, town of Srinagar was plunged into darkness. The Maharaja, the British dwelling in houseboats, and primarily the folks of Srinagar, had no thought of what was occurring. They did not assume that it was a nasty omen for the state and a harbinger of issues to return. On the identical time, tons of of jackals, armed to the tooth at the moment are nearing Baramulla, a border city within the valley. These jackals are nothing however wild natured Pathans originating from Peshawar. Theyâre very optimistic about capturing the Kashmir valley and making it accede to Pakistan. This daring transfer from the Pathans was aided predominantly because of a political blunder made by the Maharaja of J&Ok, Hari Singh. Throughout the accession of princely states with India and Pakistan, Lord Mountbatten urged him to make J&Ok accede to Pakistan, due to its predominant Muslim inhabitants and geographical proximity to Pakistan. He declined, as he was a Hindu. Mountbatten requested him to contemplate the choice of merging with India at the very least. Once more he declined, in all probability as a result of the facility and the attraction related to the throne intoxicated his thoughts. Because of this, these marauders from the West started to invade J&Ok, spurred by vested pursuits in Pakistan. As these wild barbaric Pathans started closing in on the bustling city of Srinagar, they went on a killing and looting spree within the adjoining areas. The Maharaja was left with no possibility and blindly signed the accession treaty with India, with out considering the desire of his topics. On October 27 1947, the Indian military entered the valley from the Jammu facet and started to repel the marauding Pathans. This occasion marked the beginning of the primary Kashmir conflictâŠâŠ
Troubled Area
After the primary Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan in 1947, the state was divided between the two nations. India took Jammu, Ladakh, and the Kashmir valley whereas Pakistan took the small strip of western Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan. Based on the UN treaty, the state is disputed territory. Neither India nor Pakistan can declare the state. A plebiscite to determine whether or not the territory belongs to India or Pakistan has not been performed for the previous 61 years. Separatism and anti India emotions started to develop within the valley from 1947 onwards. The reason is its predominantly Muslim inhabitants and geographical proximity to Pakistan started to make the Kashmiri Muslims develop a gentle nook and a way of false brotherhood in direction of Pakistan. Because the early 1950âs, many individuals within the valley, particularly Muslims, have been made to consider that their land was being illegally occupied by India, due to the propaganda created by hardcore separatist leaders.
Until 1988, although this thought was ingrained within the hearts of many individuals, other than just a few, many did not specific their outburst publicly. After the allegedly rigged elections in 1988, Kashmiri Muslims began to provide vent to their anti India emotions publicly by way of violent protests. The agitation took an unsightly flip when lots of the youth began to take Kalashnikovs of their arms, and began waging Jihad (a holywar) towards India. Consequently, militancy erupted and peaked within the early nineties. The Indian military managed militancy in the course of the mid and late 90âs.Miltancy began to say no after 2003 on account of peace talks by the governments India and Pakistan and a bilateral ceasefire settlement adopted. Militancy declined, however the alienation of Kashmiri Muslims from Indiaâs mainstream was very pronounced and was at its zenith for the reason that daybreak of militancy. The Indian military already had a infamous title in coping with counter insurgency. A standing instance of that is once they have been despatched as peace retaining forces in Srilanka. There, they violated human rights in lots of Tamilian areas. They repeated the identical blunder in Kashmir, thereby shedding the religion and the belief of the folks. Professional-Pakistani ISI components within the valley used this chance to additional gas the hearth about separatist sentiments within the valley.
Current Turmoil
The state is well-known for its non secular concord. Hindus and Muslims have lived in concord for a few years within the valley. Throughout the partition of India, one a part of the nation which did not bear the brunt of the Hindu-Muslim riots was Kashmir valley. Even Mahatma Gandhi had a phrase of reward for the valley for sustaining its concord and tolerance to different religions. However, on the onset of militancy, this home of concord started to develop fissures. There have been horrible and macabre assaults on Hindus (Kashmiri Pundits) by Islamic fundamentalists. This led to the ethnic cleaning of pundits from valley. Almost 5 hundred thousand pundits deserted the valley for concern of their lives (This divide grew to become wider within the latest Amarnath land switch controversy). Separatists started to regulate the functioning of the valley from this level onwards, firmly and fanatically.
When Hindu fundamentalists in Jammu started to implement an financial blockade within the valley by stopping site visitors on the NH-1A (Srinagar -Jammu freeway which is the lifeline of the valley) a storm began brewing in Kashmir. Initially the state of affairs might be in comparison with a Class 1 hurricane, when tons of of individuals began to protest within the streets of each city of the valley. It grew to become additional elevated to a Class 3 hurricane like state of affairs, when hundreds of individuals tried to cross the LoC in vans for doing commerce as per the separatists name. The date was August 12, 2008, when 33 human lives have been snuffed out, due to the stray bullets of the police and CRPF. A violent Class 5 hurricane like situation began taking form, threatening to raze to the bottom every little thing that got here in its midst. Identical to a dam breached, the floodgates have been thrown open and Tens of millions of Kashmiri Muslims started to pour in from each nook and nook of the streets for every separatistâs protest name. Hundreds and hundreds of individuals defied the curfew, braving the bullets and the bitter chilly. When Separatists chanted slogans like âPampore Chaloâ, âIdGah Chaloâ, Lakhs and Lakhs of individuals attended the rally, chanting the identical slogans together with their leaders in a state of frenzied stupor. It was identical to a sea of individuals, with human waves as huge as a tsunami. Separatists could not consider that this a lot assist might be garnered in such a brief span of time.What militants, the ISI, and separatists failed to attain within the valley since 1989, Hindu fanatics and a complacent Central Authorities have achieved for them. All this cauldron of frustration and pent-up feelings wanted was a small spark of hatred on the proper time. And that was certainly current.
Wakeup India!!
Whatâs Kashmirâs Future?
At current, we are able to consider two attainable eventualities. As this power downside has not been amicably resolved for the previous 6 many years, we now have to fully rethink our coverage in direction of Kashmir. For each kashmiri muslim, his/her blood flows with distinctive blood group specifically F+, i.e. Freedom!! How lengthy can we appease them with some CBMâs? CBMâs like developing railways, srinagar-muzaffarabad commerce, could make solely momentary answer of their coronary heart. Freedom is of their deep thoughts. So we are able to assume rationally of giving self dedication to the folks.allow them to deceide their destiny of three choices,Independence,Pakistan,India. Kashmiri muslims at this stage will go for independence as itâs identified by ballot performed by CNN-IBN 8 months in the past. My thoughts says this answer as one possibility.. however pondering of this answer, as a Indian my coronary heart breaks..
Alternatively, for a rustic to provide an unstable and polarized territory autonomy is nothing wanting hara-kiri for its nationwide integrity and unity. Suppose the federal government fails to unravel this situation amicably, throughout time, Kashmir might get independence like Kosovo or maymerge with Pakistan due to disgruntled and irate Kashmiris combating for his or her trigger. As an upshot, the hostile results of this eventuality on India canât even be imagined. Separatism might engulf many states of India like a raging forest fireplace. As of at this time, half a dozen states within the North jap space are asking for freedom. The liberty of Kashmir might embolden them they usually might pursue their trigger additional. After some years, India might have like state of affairs of USSR splitting into items,Who is aware of, after a while even tamilnadu led by native Dravidian events might ask freedom. Bear in mind there was separatism in tamilnadu upto 1960.
So, this situation could be very intricate and delicate, like a silk swimsuit entangled in a thorny bush. It is corresponding to the unenviable state of affairs of two airplanes standing on both sides of the identical runway, desirous to take-off on the identical time. If each of them attempt to take-off on the identical time, neither one will take-off. Equally, the residents of J&Ok must unite, sit and discuss collectively and iron out their variations to search out a suitable answer. So, a collective will is required from the folks of Jammu, Kashmir and the rulers of the nation to attain a typical consensus, retaining in thoughts the nationâs greatest pursuits and growing the next diploma of tolerance in direction of the beliefs of different communities. One attainable answer to present state of affairs might be personal funding and capital can enter the impoverished state. This can present the youth of Kashmir with jobs of their arms as a substitute of AK-47s and Kalashnikovs. Bear in mind, financial salvation and the promise of a greater future to Kashmirâs youthful technology maintain extra water than idealistic (radical) ideas. After all, taking such a daring step requires a lion hearted administration, each on the centre and the state, educating the separatists and onerous core leaders of the alternatives that lie earlier than them if such a legislation is enacted and curbing the vested pursuits which will scuttle the implementation of such a legislation. This will additionally serve the aim of integrating Muslims into the Indian mainstream, a cry lengthy heard from many pissed off Muslims, Islamic clerics and politicians alike.
As this text is being drafted, one other youth has perished on the already blood dyed streets of Srinagar. It makes one ask âIs blood cheaper than water in Kashmirâ? Solely the sands of time can reveal the reply.
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