A New Low in Kashmiri Extremism and Lessons for Kashmiris

Shujaat Bukhari was gunned down by the militants on June 14, 2018. Bukhari was a well-known journalist in Kashmir due to his fearless views on Kashmir politics. He worked for the Indian newspaper The Hindu, before starting his newspaper Rising Kashmir. Not that he toed the line of the Indian state or the militants. He was at odds with both.

As I work on Kashmir issue since last two decades, I am aware of Bukhari’s work. In my research, I referred to many of his news pieces from The Hindu. During my research at JNU, New Delhi, and at Jammu University, Jammu and Kashmir, I closely followed his work, and referred to some of his views on Kashmir conflict and peace prospects. During my recent visits to border areas to study cross-border roads and their implications, I too followed his writings on the subject.

A journalist as we envision speaks truth, and speaks truth to power. He is free and fearless. We know press is the fourth estate of democracy, and for a smooth functioning of a democracy, it is necessary that press is free, there is no interference, and no killing. Killing a journalist, silencing a voice forever, is nothing but an act of cowardice. The people opposing the views of Bukhari could have opposed him in a democratic way, perhaps protesting against him, writing articles against him, or even filing a police case, if they think that is a proper action. Killing him is nothing but anti-religious, anti-peace, and anti-human. The killers or Bukhari are insane of the highest order, and any means adopted to bring them to justice must be welcome.

The killing of Bukhari reminds me the killing of another sane voice of Kashmir some 16 years ago, in 2002. Abdul Ghani Lone was a peaceful voice of protest in Kashmir. The only fault he had, and for which he paid with his life, was he advocated that Kashmiri people should take part in elections. His main argument was that let Kashmiris take part in elections, and bring their issues, including the voice of dissent and human rights issue to the legislature. A fine voice in Kashmir, he was silenced by the militants.

The same thing happened with Bukhari. An independent minded Kashmiri, a Kashmir-loving journalist was silenced, by the extremist Kashmiris. The loss of Bukhari was not only a loss of journalism, but also a loss of very Kashmiris. There are many instances in which Bukhari opposed Indian state’s policies in Kashmir. He could have an effective voice for the Kashmiris. The militants, who were brain-washed, who believed only in the power of the gun, did not hesitate to kill one of their fellow Kashmiris, who was wielding pen. They did not know that pen is much more powerful than gun.

The message is clear. That unless Kashmiris Rise (to imitate the title of Bukhari’s newspaper, Rising Kashmir), the senseless killings in Kashmir would continue. Pakistan might have sharpened its terror machinery and been getting ever ready to supply those machines to Kashmir, but those machines could not have been active with the support of very Kashmiris, whom the machines intended to kill. It is unfortunate that many Kashmiris do not see that they are killing their own brothers and sisters. Unless they realize that they are mere puppets in the hand of the puppeteers across the border, unless they realize that the gun they wield is meant to destroy their own beautiful Kashmir, the violence would continue.

I hope that the Kashmiris, particularly the militants of Kashmir and their supporters, would realize the futility of killings and counter killings. It would never solve the problem. They may have guns, and hide and kill sane voices like Shujaat Bukhari, but by doing they weaken their cause. The Kashmiri problem is partly due to the mistaken belief on part of the militant Kashmiris that they can solve the problem by guns, by killing people, and Pakistan is the big daddy across the border, who will take care of them. They do not need to go far to know the reality. They just look across the border on the Kashmir in Pakistan side. That will provide enough information to dismantle their mistaken belief,  and how Pakistan has treated Kashmiris in its side of the border. It is called so called Azad (free) Jammu and Kashmir, but its constitution says Kashmir Banega (will be) Pakistan (translating the whole thing into plain English – The constitution of free Kashmir says it will be part of Pakistan). An individual in that side can not get a government job unless he professes the ideology of Pakistan. The Kashmiris in that side are treated as second class citizens.

The sooner the Kashmiris, I particularly mean the Kashmiris of the Valley, understand and realize this, the better for peace and development. Religion is a matter of practice, but it is not a policy. Arguing that majority Kashmiris are Muslims and they must be part of Pakistan defies very logic. There are more Muslims in India than in Kashmir and probably more than in Pakistan. The idea of creating purely a Muslim state goes against the very idea of India, in which pluralism thrives. Living together is the idea of modern democratic state. Monotheistic states are not a practicable reality, particularly where people of multiple faiths live for hundreds of years together.

Admitting the reality helps. Despite all the problems, all the bad things, minorities in India are far better than minorities, say in Pakistan or Bangladesh. Look at what Jinnah of Pakistan had said in 1948. He promised that all people will have freedom to practice their religion. But we know what had actually happened. Few days back Charanjit Singh, a Sikh in Peshawar, was killed by Taliban. His fault – he was a Sikh, and active in society. The number of Sikhs and Hindus have radically dwindled in Pakistan. From about 20 percent of population of Pakistan at the time of the partition, now they are about 2 per cent. Look at India – each population has grown, irrespective of religions. There is no suppression of minorities, there is no religious law, as proclaimed by Zia, there is no invocation to Kashmiris to radicalize and to take up arms as was done by Benazir Bhutto in 1987. These are all for anybody to verify. This is the fact. The more the people of Kashmir go deeper into this, the better.

I am not saying that Indian state has no fault in Kashmir. It has committed many mistakes. I have articulated this in my book Conflict Management in Kashmir, available at www.cambridge.org/9781108423892. But most violence is cyclic. The militants and military are engaged in violence. Who would argue that the army suppressed Kashmiris before 1980s? Even before 1980s India had comparatively strong army, but there was no massive deployment of armed forces in Kashmir. But, why after 1980s, there was massive deployment of forces? The rational minds in Kashmir must think about it. Who kidnapped Rubiyya Sayed, and Why? Who created the militant organizations and supported them? Who used illegal ways like Hawala to supply money to militants and their leaders in Kashmir? Who orchestrated killings of moderate voices like Lone and Bukhari of Kashmir? Who suffered? The people of Kashmir. The Kashmir was shattered. The minorities of Kashmir were tortured and killed. Kashmiris – Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs died.

Why was all this done? It is the mistaken belief that Kashmir can be wrested by force that contributed to this mayhem. It is the mistaken belief that by massively radicalizing impressionable youth Kashmir can be wrested. It is the mistaken belief that by blasting bombs, throwing grenades, killing people, Kashmir can be wrested. The more the violence, the more the destruction in Kashmir. And that is the net result. The families of the militants who die suffer, and also suffer the families of the soldiers and members of paramilitary forces who die.

Kashmir was not like that three or four decades ego. There are stories that the very Kashmiris nabbed spies from Pakistan and surrendered them to Indian authorities during the 1965 war. The situation changed later. Pakistan failing to defeat India directly in the war, used proxy war, armed the youth of Kashmir, radicalized them with the poison of religion. And the youth fell into the trap. Now Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Lashkar e Toiba, Jaish e Mohammad, are players in the Kashmir conflict. How could they play a role in this conflict? Certainly many of the members of these organizations are not Kashmiris. Certainly, they do not represent Kashmiris. How come they became so important in Kashmir?

The moment the Kashmiris of the valley withdraw their support to these militant organizations, peace will dawn in Kashmir. The army will be redundant. The moment the youth of the Kashmir realize that they are puppets in the hand of Pakistan, and they are not masters of their destiny, the problem will be resolved. The moment the Kashmiris think rationally, separate religion from politics, the problem will be resolved.

Religion is no doubt a strong bond. Everybody loves his or her religion. There is no problem in it, and there should be no problem in it. But religion can not be politicized and radicalized as in Kashmir. That will invite disaster. Kashmir can not be a religious state as is Pakistan. Kashmir has its own identity – that is Kashmiriyat. Let Kashmiris realize this Kashmiriyat and revive this spirit. Let the Kashmiris know that one of their ancestors was called Noor-ud-din by Muslims and Nund Rishi by Hindus. Let Kashmiris study Kalhana’s Rajtaringini, and know their history. Let Kashmiris know how their history witnessed confluence of religions and cultures, and how Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism all flourished in Kashmir. Let them know how in the Shankaracharya mountain, the Hindu saint Adi Shankara meditated, before the onset of Islam in the valley. Let them know about Lalitaditya, Zainul Abidin, Lal Ded, Sufism, Ranjit Singh, and the deep history and culture of Kashmir.

It is foolish if religious radicals think they can erase this pluralistic identity of Kashmir. If the militants think that with the support of Pakistan, they can mute whole Jammu and Kashmir, they can defeat Indian state, they are in illusion. Yes, they can silence sane voices like Bukhari, and kill innocent civilians, tourists or pilgrims, or some state officials. But their killing will also be retaliated by the state. This is already going on for more than two decades. There are already thousands of killings. I hope better sense will prevail on the militants, and also on their leaders and their supporters.

Let the sacrifice made by Shujaat Bukhari not go in vain.

Then Pandits, Now Sikhs

For the past few days media reports are abuzz with the Sikh community’s expression of fear in the Kashmir valley. Both print and electronic media provided news about how anonymous letters were thrown into the premises the Gurudwaras, the Sikh religious shrines, how the warning by some of the radical leaders in the valley have rattled the Sikh community about their future in the valley. The fear is understandable, and the fear that lest not the fate of Kashmiri Pandits befall on this minority community in the valley has come loud and clear. It is known well that in the early 1990s almost the whole Pandit community left the Kashmir valley citing the factors of, among others, fear and intimidation by religious fundamentalists and militants.

Kashmir is not only the paradise on earth but is also characterised as a cultural and religious melting pot, famously referred to as Kashmiriyat. Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs lived in the valley for centuries together. Hence, one can see the dress and food patterns of Kashmiri Muslims and Hindus as similar, while the same those of the valley Muslims and Jammu Muslims are different. The famous patron saint of the valley enjoyed Hindu-Nund Rishi as well as Muslim-Nuruddin names. This is called Kashmiriyat. It is true when almost whole of India was burning during partition due to Hindu-Muslim riots; it was the Kashmir valley which blazed as a site of communal harmony and peace. As far as I remember reading somewhere, Mahatma Gandhi mentioned this greatness of Kashmir on one occasion. Though overwhelmingly Muslim majority region, the valley has never witnessed communal violence till the late 1980s. The Kashmir rulers like Zainul Abidin played great role to foster the spirit of this syncretic culture of Kashmir called Kashmiriyat.

The erosion of Kashmiriyat came with the onrush of radical version of religion as the sole guiding principle of life in the valley. And it is not varied religions, but only one religion- the majority religion the Islam that must govern the life of the valley- that dented this principle of Kashmiriyat. It is true that not all Kashmiri Muslims are radicals, or even all Kashmiri leaders are radicals, it will be absolutely foolish to paint all Kashmiri Muslims in the Islamic radical brush, but it is also equally true that there are elements that play the religion card at the behest of other powers to destroy the Kashmiriyat spirit. It is appreciable when separatist leaders like Mirwaiz or Gilani promise that the Kashmiri protests have nothing to do with religion. But the fact remains and as the past Pandit episode reflects, there are elements that want to demolish the syncretic culture of the beautiful Kashmir valley.

The anonymous letters say to the effect that the Sikhs must take part in protests along with the Muslims even if that is against their will. There are also reports that the threats also include the warning that the Sikhs must leave the valley or convert into Islam. Expectedly there was huge uproar not only in the Sikh community world wide but also in other communities at such a brazen communal intimidation. The Akali Dal and many other Sikh religious organizations have appealed to the prime minister of India, also a Sikh, to protect the minorities in the valley. All the mainstream parties in India, and also the local parties of Kashmir, particularly the National Conference, have strongly raised voice against this threat. Mehboob Beg, the member of Indian Parliament from National Conference, struck the right chord in saying that it is a shame that this threat is coming and his party will do everything to protect the minorities and protect the spirit of Kashmiriyat.

Any protest against the government of India or government of Jammu and Kashmir or even the Indian rule might have some genuine grievances underlying them. That may be comprehensible. But one may ask why the violent protests are confined only to the Muslims of the valley, not to Hindus and Sikhs and others in the valley, and why this protest is confined only to a small part of whole Jammu and Kashmir but not to other parts such as Jammu or Ladakh, dominated by Hindus and Buddhist respectively. Does it imply the radical Muslims of the valley (obviously they are the minority within their own community, as the majority Muslims in the valley are peace loving) are better custodians of true interests of the whole Muslim community or even the whole Jammu and Kashmir with India. The protests and the hands behind these protests need to be scrutinized, and with this comes the larger issue whether the violence is purely political, or it has other dimensions.

Whatever may the reason behind the ongoing protests, the threats to minority Sikhs display a design underlying nexus between violence and religion in the Kashmir valley. The saner voices in Kashmir including the moderate leaders must rise to the occasion and check this erosion in the spirit of Kashmiriyat in strongest possible ways.