In this post I’d like to express my concern over the fact that India may loose its oneness and may be divided because of the vested interests of politicians involved in this violent uprising against the wrong issues (communal) . This uprising may have been ignited by the Amarnath shrine land, but the main cause of it has been different. The differences are between the people of Jammu and those of Kashmir. These differences have grown into a full fledged poisonous tree that is now threatening to destroy its own roots. The people of Jammu resentfully feel that Kashmir has been pampered for the last 60 years, no denial of that fact. The fact that educated people, not persuaded by political parties have joined the agitation itself proves this. On the contrary, the highway blockade by VHP activists has sharpened the perception that Kashmiris (Muslims) are persecuted in India (dominated by Hindus). This agitation had nothing to do with hindus or muslims, but this case has become critical since the density of Hindus is more in Jammu and the same is with Muslims in Kashmir.
I recently was a spectator to a debate between a resident of Jammu and a kashmiri. The debate was centered around the agitation in Jammu and had begun from the violence by the army. The Jammu resident was unhappy with the over pampering of Kashmir. She said that Kashmir has been the center of growth and development.
More funds are allocated to Kashmir than to Jammu and hence the growth has been slow. There are few colleges in jammu and most colleges in kashmir have more quota for Kashmiri people. Most politicians in kashmir have built sprawling bunglows in jammu on illegal forest land and they come there to stay, when its snowing in the valley. So when it came to amarnath land there was no need for the land to be taken. The Kashmiri resident argued that there were more number of people in Kashmir and almost equal funds had been allocated to jammu, mentioning that there were almost 7 flyovers in jammu as compared to 1 in Kashmir. When this debate was going on I was just thinking that why has this become communal and why hurriyat and BJP are in the midst fuelling agitation and protests in J&K. This is the only thing stopping a civil war. The agitation and protests have been concentrated on economic effects.
The media has also been biased and has only focussed on issues pertaining to a single side. Media plays a vital role in influencing the thoughts of people and if it is biased or corrupted then it adds fuel to the fire. It could although give them good sales but it is simply ruining J&K, already heading towards anarchy. One such website I’d like to mention is www.greaterkashmir.com . The website has shown has portrayed kashmiris as victims and all others as cruel. The fact is that we all are victims here. Things such as Muzaffarabad Chalo could only give the anti social terror elements a chance to sneak in militants into India and they could kill innocents.
The situation could be like what it was in 1947 if muslims were made to flee from jammu, giving the BJP an electoral advantage.
The possibility of a bloody civil war is quite there as J&K has a lot of village self defense committees armed with automatic rifles. These committees are largely Hindu. In the hilly terrain, a civil war could would mean catastrophy.
The only solution to this situation is that one side needs to compromise. The political parties have their own vested interests. BJP might have gained good political ground from this agitation. We need to sort out our differences and stay with peace. Somebody will have to compromise. We have seen so many communal riots and seen thousands of people die as a result of that. But we are still fighting, not realizing that this situation could get communal soon. There are lakhs of people at the Amarnath yatra. As a resident of J&K you might criticize me. You might say that how can I, who may have never stayed in J&K could say this so easily. You are right, but the solution of this problem is only in compromising. About 21 people have died so far because of the firing by the army and CRPF. You may hate the army, but please don’t support the terrorists either. Supporting them has allowed them to survive. Naxalites have also survived in a similar way. The right path is long and bumpy and does not look easy, but it always leads you to the right place.
