Friday, September 17, 2010

Kashmir in Turmoil:

NOTHING LESS THAN NATIONAL SELF DETERMINATION CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Once again Kashmir is in turmoil. Young boys-even
of 8 years old-are dieing like birds on the streets hit by
the police bullets. The streets in Srinagar, Kupwara,
Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag and several other towns
were reddened by and drenched in the blood of
protesting people.
The present wave of protests in Kashmir began in
April 2010 when the people of Shaopian village saw the
dead bodies of two women of their own villages floating
in a river. The people were deeply pained and intensively
angered when they learnt that the men of armed police
had committed brutalities, killed and threw bodies of
said women in the river. The attempts by the authorities
to shield the culprits and crush the just protest had
stoked the flames of protest further. The cycle of
innocent boys being killed by the men of armed police;
the people coming into protests against it and the
armed police again killing more boys forcing the greater
number of people to take to the streets…..continued in
Kashmir with no end.
The protests which had begun to demand justice in
certain specific acts of crime by the armed police had
eventually developed into a powerful and Kashmir-wide
popular movement to demand the withdrawal of CRPF
and other para-military forces together with the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Kashmir. The
present protest movement has brought the national and
democratic aspirations of Kashmir people, once again,
to the fore as expressed in the demand for azadi.
The present protest movement in Kashmir has
revealed certain signifant and welcome features:
Firstly, it has brought all sections and ages of people
into action, with the youth playing a pivotal role in it.
Secondly, the protest has assumed the character of a
political movement. With people taking part in
unrelenting and Kashmir-wide protest actions defying
the curfews, imprisonment and bullets and waging
pitched battles with stones as a form of self defence
from the armed police. Thousands of people threw
themselves into the protest actions and the protest
movement has acquired the nature of a popular upsurge.
Thirdly, earlier it had been an usual habit of the armed
police and the Government. to pick up the youth from
their homes or isolated places and hush up their killings
or justify the same as deaths of a ‘suspected terrorists’
in an encounter. But now as the people have moved in
thousands into militant protest actions and are reacting
against every crime and atrocity in any corners of the
state it is becoming extremely difficult for the armed
police to act in the old fashion. Fourthly, the Indian
rulers as well as their counter-parts in Kashmir wait
not even for a second to reject the demand of Kashmir
people for national self determination as anti-national
and pro-Pakistan etc. But they are finding it difficult to
dismiss the present protest which raised the slogan of
AZADI so because of its mass character and the
participation of the people in it in several thousands.
The present movement is compared by many with the
“Tehreck”- a mass upsurge that swept Kashmir in 1990s
with the demand for independence. Some see the
possibility of this movement assuming the nature of
Palestine people’s intifada if it was sought be crushed
by force. Of course, the rulers complain that the
‘separatists’ are attempting to use the present
movement to push through their slogans.
The Way Rulers are handling it
The Indian Government used heavy hand to suppress
the protest movement. It rejected the long-standing
demands of Kashmir people to withdraw the central
para-military forces and AFSPA from Kashmir. It justified
the killing of several dozen’s of youth, and the arrest of
hundreds of protesters by the armed police. It had turned
almost the entire Kashmir into a territory virtually
occupied and ruled by the armed police. The never
ending curfews, the sounds of marching armed police,
gun shots, threats of police raids and interventions in
private lives had seriously disturbed the peace and
normal life of the people for days together. The Prime
Minister and the Union Home Minister had received the
so called Track No.2 efforts and dialogue process. But
this process has only revealed its lack of honesty of
purpose and, therefore, its futility. This has become an
exercise to buy over the sections of political
organizations and isolate the sections who seem to be
firm in their support for the demands like national selfdetermination
rather than striving to understand the
genuine aspirations and finding proper solutions. These
methods are only further alienating the Indian rulers
from the Kashmir people.
The present Omar Abdulla led Government in
Kashmir stands as a most discredited one. Omar
Abdulla’s National Conference is divided while the
Congress is waiting in its wings to grab power. In its
mad chase for power NC leadership had gone a long
way in its shameful degeneration, surrender and betrayal
to the cause of Kashmir people championed by Sheikh
Abdulla in his early political life. The people of Kashmir
see the Omar Abdulla’s Govt. as nothing but a tool of
Indian rulers to impose the anti-people and repressive
policies on them. In the context of the present
movement it got itself further alienated from the people
because of its all out support to the policy and moves
of the central govt. to suppress the Kashmir people.
On one side, it had indulged in such provocative talk
as “the cycle of violence must end, otherwise the
consequences will be tragic and serious” and on the
other side, it had set various teams into motion and
sought to convene the all Party meet to mobilize the
support to its moves to put an end to the protest
movement. Here is an instance of the methods it used
to bribe the political forces. The Kashmir Govt. has
arrested a Veteran Kashmir leader, Syed Ali Shah
Geelani, Tehreek-i-Hurriyat on June 20, 2010 on the
charge of fomenting trouble in Kashmir. State officials
had later approached him in jail with an offer to release
him on one month’s parole. But he demanded the
release of hundreds of youth who were put in jail on
various false charges. Later, the authorities informed
him that he was a free person now. On Aug 3, 2010,
Geelani revealed to the Press: “CM Osama Abdulla’s
Political Advisor Dharidra Rana met me while I was
lodged in Chanchamashahi sub jail saying a political
space could be created for me provided I lend a hand
to the Govt. He appeared to be under the notion that I
was interested in power politics which I am not. I told
him that the people of Kashmir want an end to Indian
occupation and no force, how so strong it may be, can
stop their achieving their goal.”
Ever since the present wave of protest movement
began, the Central Govt. held the Cabinet Committee
on Security (CCS) meetings and has co-ordinated its
moves with the Kashmir Govt. while using the heavy
dose of force to suppress the moves it also talked about
the dialogue process, political packages to woe the
political forces in Kashmir to its side and made
exercises such as consultations and all party meeting
to involve and take the help of other ruling class (BJP,
etc) and parliamentary parties in putting an end to the
protest movement in Kashmir.
Different Evaluations and Solutions
Certain types of ‘criticisms’ and advice to the Indian
Govt. has come in this context. Some see it as a result
of ‘Political naivete’ and indifference, etc on the part of
Kashmir Govt. together with the Indian Govt’s
complacency, indecision and break in the dialogue
process. Some say the youth had taken to the road of
protest because they are frustrated with the problems
of unemployment and lack of opportunities and the
separatist and anti-Indian slogans. Some say that the
protest is an expression of anger against an extremely
corrupt and unpopular Omar Abdulla Govt. Some like
the PDP in Kashmir say that the reliance on force
excessively rather than on the dialogue process has
worsened the situation. Some suggested that it is not
too late for the main stream parties to reach out to the
moderate elements like Mirwazi Moulvi, Farooqui and
Yasin Malik co opting them in the project of bringing
peace. Now it is time to work on a frame work for
autonomy for the state. Some suggested to include
Kashmir as an issue in the composite dialogue with
Pakistan. Vikram sood, a former head of the RAW
suggested, “We must engage Kashmir’s elected
representatives in a continuous dialogue….. Make
people like Ali Shah Geelani irrelevant refuse to give
importance to those like Mirwaiz Omar
Farooq……Unless these elements are put to pasture,
they will keep reinventing themselves under the
guidance from Pakistan.”
All these criticisms or advice sound pleasant to the
ears of the Indian ruling classes. Because, they are
aimed at helping the Indian Govt. in tackling the Kashmir
problem in the way it had been dealing with it in the
last more than six decades. But, the hard reality is,
they are evading to face the real cause of turmoil in
Kashmir.
Where lies the root of the problem
History tells that Kashmir (together with the part
ruled by the Pakistan) was an independent princely
state when the British colonial rule ended. The king
Hari Singh wanted to remain independent. But he was
faced with two serious problems. One: A powerful antifeudal
and democratic movement was sweeping in
Kashmir pushing the Raj on to the brink of collape.
This was a life and death problem for him. Second: The
newly emerged Indian and Pakistani regimes who
engaged in the attempts to integrate Kashmir in their
countries. Both the regimes saw the possible
emergences of a democratic and independent Kashmir
as a serious threat to the social system they inherited
to protect. While the Pakistan rulers sought to use the
troubles in the tribal areas of Kashmir to realize their
aim, the Indian rulers made use of the tottering state of
kingdom and troubles in the tribal areas to force the
king to sign the instrument of Accession, and militarily
intervene in Kashmir. The Kashmir people had no role
in this development. They also had no role in the politics
of control and division played by the rulers of both
countries and for the unending tensions and hostilities
between the people.
The people of Kashmir, however, continued to love
their own distinct culture, language and way of life. The
disputes between India and Pakistan – a product of
colonial rule-and the hostilities, tensions and wars
nurtured and continued by the imperialist, the US
imperialists in particular caused much strain to the life
and struggle of Kashmir people in defence of national
and democratic rights. Sheik Abdulla stood in the fore
front of this struggle for over a period of time.
The Indian ruling classes were never in agreement
with the idea of a Kashmir outside the Indian Union. At
the same time they found it difficult to reject the people’s
national and democratic aspirations altogether. As a
result an agreement was signed by the Indian Govt.
and Sheik Abdulla. It was given the shape of Article
370 of the Indian constitution.
In brief, this article 370 embodied six special
provisions for Jammu-Kashmir, namely (1) it exempted
Kashmir from the provisions of Constitution of India
which provide for the governance of the states. It allows
Jammu-Kashmir to have its own Constitution within the
Indian Union, (II) It restricted the Parliament’s Legislative
power over Kashmir to defence, External Affairs and
Communications, (III) Prior concurrence of the State
Government was required if the other provisions of Indian
Constitution or Union powers were to be extended to
Kashmir, (IV) The concurrence had to be ratified by the
State’s Constitutent Assembly, (V) The State Govt’s
concurrence lasts only until the States Constituent
Assembly was convened, once the Constituent
Assembly was dispersed, the President’s extending
powers end completely, (VI) It empowers the President
to make an order abrogating or amending the Article
379. But even for this the State’s Constituent
Assembly’s recommendation was necessary. The
Article 370 cannot be abrogated or amended by
recourse to amending the Indian Constitution.
It must be noted that the Indian Ruling classes had
to agree to accord this special status to Jammu and
Kashmir because the people’s aspirations for an
independent and democratic Kashmit were so powerful
and irresistable at the time and no other move could
have confinced them to arrive at an agreement with the
Indian rulers. It must be noted that, at that time, Sheikh
Abdulla carried immence respect and confidence among
the people of Kashmir and this had contibuted a lot in
rallying the people with it.
But the people of Kashmir had only gone through a
tortuous, frustrating and betraying experience in the
subsequest years.
While the BJP (at one time Jana Sangh) and some
other parties and organizations had been and still are
tirelessly opposing the speical status to Jammu and
Kashmir and campaigning for the abrogation of Article
370, the Congress Govts from Nehru onwards had all
along been doing everything to water down in practice
and make ineffective this Article without, ofcourse,
removing the Article 370 from the pages of the
Constitution of India. For this, they used the methods
of pressure, manipulation, back doors, slander and the
repression. In the course of this, Sheikh Abdulla had
suffered imprisonment for more than a decade for his
‘crime’ of making weak attempts to retain the main
content of Article 370. Yet, he went on giving up one
position after the other extremely weakening the
autonomous status of Kashmir. The National
Conference led by him which had enjoyed highest
respect and confidence at one time had in the course
of time and towards the end of Sheikh Abdulla’s life
saw a serious erosion of credibility and support among
the people of Kashmir because of its surrendering the
rights of Kashmir people in its quest for power. The
subsequent leaderships of the National Conference only
went down further on the road of degeneration.
The Indian Government and the parties of ruling
classes saw to it that they weild the real power in
Kashmir. They rigged and manipulated elections, floated
coalitions and imposed the Governor’s rule for this
purpose.
The Indian rulers never tried to understand the
genuine feelings and aspirations of Kashmir people.
They viewed the demands for the withdrawal of Central
armed police, AFSPA, the punishment to those who
committed various types of crimes against the people
and the demands of independence and the preservation
of special status as provided originally in the Article
370 with suspicion and rejected. They saw the influence
and hand of anti-Indian, Islamist, terrorist elements and
Pakistan agents behind these slogans and sought to
suppress with iron hand. They sought to sow divisions
among the people in an attempt to malign, divide and
isolate the people and political forces who were
ventilating the democratic and national aspirations.
They took every care to keep out the political forces
that they identified as the champions of national and
democratic rights from the electoral process and the
corridors of power. The Govts that had ruled Kashmir
so far with the blessings of Central Government had
only set the worst examples of corrupt, anti-people and
repressive rule. All this had only further alienated the
Indian ruling classes and the Indian Govt. from Kashmir
people. More significantly the systematic and
conspiratorial moves on the part of the Indian
Government to water down and make ineffective whatever
the autonomous status the Article 370 has originally
assured, the endless attempts to reduce Kashmir just
into a tool of Central rule and endless attacks on the
rights and lives had only strengthened the feelings of
humiliation, alienation and betrayal among the Kashmir
people. The present trend of thinking and moves on the
part of Indian Govt., the Indian ruling classes and the
Kashmir would only further alienate them from Kashmir
people.
In this situation, the solution to Kashmir question
cannot even be imagined if the Indian rulers evade the
following demands that are raised by the Kashmir
people in various and on various occasions:
1. Stop all repression and repressive moves in
Kashmir.
2. Withdraw the CRPF and other Central paramilitary
forces and repel AFSP Act.
3. Release all those who were arrested under various
false charges in the context of present protest movement.
4. Punish those who are
responsible for the killing of
Kashmir people on various
occasions.
5. Shun the methods of
maligning, buying and dividing
the Kashmir people and the
political forces.
6. Ensure peaceful and
democratic atmosphere and
conditions where the Kashmir
people can express their
views and feelings freely on
the future status of Kashmir.
Solution to Kashmir question
must be found by accepting
and honouring the Kashmir
people’s right of national selfdetermination
in deciding the
future of Kashmir.

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