Kashmir: generations of violence
It all started in the nineteenth century when the imperial conflicts and interests were at their peak and the hasty partition plan left some unfinished agendas. Kashmir is the simmering region still suffering from illegal Indian occupation and easily qualifies for the longest conflict of South Asia. Many generations of Kashmiris have suffered the violence and tyranny of the Indian occupation forces and recently the brutality has increased to an extent that the Kashmiri youth are being targeted, who have the courage to stand up for their freedom rights. India blatantly calls it its integral part, but the mere presence of a large number of troops; tell a different story of a region that has been turned into a fortress. India’s mismanagement and atrocities have deeply alienated the people who still carry the Pakistani flags and chant Pakistani slogans. The popular resentment has intensified amidst a massive military presence.
Today’s world is fast experiencing the impact of globalization and independent sovereign nation states interact with each other on every aspect. Every nation feels the need and importance of being sovereign in the world as an independent entity. India seems to be living in centuries old past where one large state occupied and dominated other people by sheer force. It seems to defy all the norms of international law which guarantee the right of self-determination to all the peoples in the world.
For long the so called biggest democracy of the world has been suppressing the freedom rights of Kashmiris by brute force and is not giving them their right to decide about their future. This is not the norm of the civilized world today and independence is the fundamental right of every individual. The Kashmiris either want to be a part of Pakistan or independent, and the Indian government is too blind to see the sentiments of the Kashmiris. Their cries and voices are crushed by pellet guns and the youth are muted forever by killing them in fake encounters. According to a recent report titled, Blind to Justice: Excessive Use of Force and Attacks on Health case in J&K, India, Physicians for Human Rights stated that pellet guns are inherently inaccurate, indiscriminate and capable of penetrating soft tissues even at a distance. This proves that there is no denying the fact that India is responsible for gross human rights violations, and the perpetual silence of the international community, particularly world powers, is criminal.
A small bright side of the grim scenario is that after the brutal killing of the youth Burhan Wani, the Kashmiri freedom struggle has gained a lot of momentum since the last year and India is facing difficulty in trying to suppress it lately. The international community also recently seems a bit concerned about the gravity of the situation in Kashmir and the possible conflict between the two nuclear armed enemies, Pakistan and India. The new UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has also showed keen interest to help India and Pakistan to solve all their outstanding conflicts with dialogue, particularly Kashmir. This is a hopeful sign and partly due to the diplomatic efforts of Pakistan to raise the plight of the Kashmiris internationally. Pakistan has always been playing the role of the biggest supporter of the Kashmiri cause at all international forums and has voiced its concerns on the growing violence of India. The Indians should know that Pakistan will continue supporting the Kashmiris in every possible way until India stops calling Kashmir its integral part.
As it is said that “you can change history but not geography”, India should realise that it is dangerous to tread the conflict path with its nuclear armed neighbor instead of adopting the doctrine of “live and letting live” peacefully. In the current volatile situation especially of Kashmir, India should show the political will and maturity to resolve the issues with Pakistan. Modi is hell bent on pursuing an aggressive policy towards Pakistan but he should rethink as his “act tough” policy with Pakistan is definitely not working. Rather it is aggravating the situation in Kashmir and keeping in view the current momentum in the valley against Indian forces, sooner or later India will have to stop being the forceful, self-proclaimed master of the scenic valley.
The situation today stands more volatile because of the present Indian government’s refusal to even acknowledge that a problem exists in Kashmir. The Modi government wants to resolve the Kashmiri situation by crushing the peoples’ agitation and by rejecting any dialogue with Pakistan. This strategy cannot sustain for long as the peace of South Asia is direly threatened by India’s stubborn attitude of policing and bullying the region. A sustainable and long-term strategy is the need of the hour and that can never happen without India firstly accepting Kashmir to be a disputed territory and secondly without coming to the negotiating table. No one has any delusions that the longstanding issues would be resolved overnight or in a few meetings. Formal resumption of multi-dimensional talks can help to control unnecessary paranoia while renewing the opportunity to understand each other.
