New Delhi’s policy towards Kashmir is flawed. It has never considered
Kashmir as an integral part of India to the same extent as other
states. It has granted concession after concession to Kashmir at
the behest of those who have all through held the view that Kashmir
is a disputed territory and that India has gone back on its commitment
that the Muslims of Kashmir would be given the right to self-determination.
So much so, it has granted to the state the right to have its own
constitution and a separate flag, as also the right to exercise
residuary powers, and not done anything substantial to eliminate
the menace of secessionism and fundamentalism. The result has been
the promotion of separatism and fanaticism in Kashmir and the neglect
and persecution of the non-Muslim minorities in the state as well
as the emergence of a dispensation that outrages their religious
sensitivities and negates the very principles of secularism and
democracy at regular intervals. It’s no wonder then that the extremists
as well as the protagonists of autonomy, self-rule and the state’s
merger with Pakistan have been ruling the roost and spreading their
dangerous tentacles beyond Kashmir.
As long as the separatists within and outside the politico-administrative
establishment in Jammu and Kashmir continue to operate in the manner
they have been allowed by the Indian state, the situation in the
Valley and other parts of the state cannot improve. In other words,
Kashmir and other parts of the state would continue to witness not
just acts of terrorism, but also what the nation witnessed in Kashmir
and Jammu between June and August 2008. New Delhi just can’t afford
to rely on those who are actually responsible for what has been
happening in the state. In fact, by relying on them, including those
at the helm of affairs in the state, New Delhi has been undercutting
its own objectives – restoration of peace and creation of secular
and democratic constituency in the Kashmir Valley.
It is time New Delhi learns lesson from the past mistakes and review
its Kashmir policy. It has to remember that pumping into Kashmir
more money or generous aid, pampering the extremists and separatists
and accommodating the viewpoints of the formations like the National
Conference and the People’s Democratic Party would simply mean an
addition to the woes of the nation. Continuation of such a policy
only means aiding separatists and fanatics in Kashmir, who are being
supported and sustained not only by Pakistan’s dreaded Inter-Service
Intelligence, but from the inside Valley as well, and from those
who are wrecking the Indian state from within. We just cannot win
“hearts and minds” in Kashmir by pursuing such a flawed policy.
Continuation of such a policy would also mean a deliberate affront
to those whose support and loyalty to New Delhi has been exemplary,
notwithstanding their neglect and persecution. I am referring to
the people of Jammu and Ladakh and internally displaced Kashmiri
Hindus. It is no secret that all of them want a dispensation that
not only integrates the state fully with the rest of the country,
but also empowers them to shape, mould and control their destiny
themselves within India and the Indian constitutional framework.
The choice before New Delhi is limited. It should stop treating
the Kashmiri Muslim leadership with kid gloves. To mark time would
be lose Kashmir. The right course is to tell it in unequivocal terms
to behave and not do anything that weakens the Indian state, humiliates
the non-Muslim minorities and imposes its regressive ideology on
others. It should be coupled with an unambiguous warning that the
Indian state shall act and act decisively in case it continues to
indulge in anti-state and anti-social activities. If the state is
to live in peace and communal harmony to be maintained, New Delhi
has to change its policy as well as the mindsets of the Kashmiri
leaders by all means. In other words, the Indian state has to bring
Jammu and Kashmir at par with other states of the Union and introduce
a reform scheme that treats all the regions of the state and the
different communities they house equally at all levels, without
any exception. The existing system cannot go on forever. It has
outlived its utility. In fact, it has utterly failed.
Similarly, while the general political, economic and religious rights
of the Kashmiri Muslims should be guaranteed and protected, a mechanism
has to be evolved that prevents the vested interests in Kashmir
and elsewhere from misusing their holy places. At the same time,
New Delhi and the Muslim leadership in Kashmir must learn how to
deal with the religious issues concerning the sensitive minorities
in the state, including the displaced Kashmiri Hindus. The Delhi-based
opinion leaders, academics, human rights activists and trouble-shooters
have also to look all these facts in the face, change their mindset
and act accordingly. There is no other way to defeat the reactionary
and backward-looking leaders whosoever they are and wherever they
are. Such an approach is not inconsistent with the cardinal principles
of secularism. Secularism and democracy mean an all-inclusive ideology
and no threat to the national unity and integrity. Even otherwise,
New Delhi has no other option but to refashion its whole approach
to the state considering the fact that Kashmir is one of the three
regions of the state and that the Kashmiri Muslim leaders do not
represent the general will.
