Kashmir Back in New Delhi’s Radar

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, made his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir on 4 July 2014. While inaugurating the rail link from Jammu to Katra, the prime minister said, “Today Jammu and Kashmir will get both speed and energy. I am inaugurating this and a power project later today.” The prime minister’s emphasis on speed and energy is significant for peace and development in Kashmir.

The train from Jammu to Katra may symbolize speed but the deliberate choice of this term implies more. Modi is perhaps the first prime minister of India who visited the conflict-torn state even before completing two months in office. This is an indication of seriousness of the new government to prioritize Kashmir. Known for his pro-development initiatives and his passion for speedy implementation of development policies, Modi’s visit to Kashmir and emphasis on peace and prosperity in the region needs to be viewed in a new light. While the root causes of the conflict demands a deeper reflection and matching actions – understandably which will take more time and energy, the recent visit conveys the message that the development process needs to be expedited in the region. It should not be made hostage to rivalries between stakeholders to the conflict. The visit will add sinew to the scattered peace efforts initiated a decade earlier.

Modi appears determined to add energy to the peace process. At 63, he is younger than his predecessor. His pro-business policies may encourage the private business to invest in Kashmir, particularly in infrastructure projects such as roads and railways, and power. For sustainable development of the region, the participation of private players is an imperative. Violence has affected the prospects of development in the region, thereby discouraging private investment and creating obstacles against effective implementation of the developmental policies. Though people-centric development is not a sure shot for peace, it can help foster peace in a violence prone, and underdeveloped, region. It is indubitable that the protracted conflict needs more than development initiatives. But, undeniably, lack of development in the region has contributed to discontent and alienation in the region. This can not, and should not, be ignored.

Modi’s policies have demonstrated that he believes in speedy execution of even tough policies. The recent hike in rail fares by his government is such an example. His visit to J&K reflects the sense of urgency to address the complex issues the region has been seized with. Though his visit to the region was protested by the separatists groups in the region and his party’s demand for a debate on Article 370 (guaranteeing special status to the region) has drawn flak from many quarters, his government’s proactive nature in Kashmir is undeniable. Reports suggest his government is planning to evolve a framework to address the hitherto neglected issue of the return and rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmir Pandits. The displaced Pandits in the Kashmir valley left their native place in late 1980s with the onset of militancy. The extremist elements may not welcome the move as it will hurt their agenda of an exclusivist Kashmir (particularly the valley) though the majority of Kashmiri people including the separatists have welcomed the initiative.

It is no surprise that on the occasion of Modi’s visit, an umbrella group of radical organizations in Kashmir, Majlis Itihad-e-Milat, threatened to sabotage his government’s plan to rehabilitate the displaced Pandits. The issue is sensitive and it needs a proper assessment since any hasty resettlement may worsen the already fragile situation, particularly in the Kashmir valley. Akin to a speeding vehicle, Modi’s speed in Kashmir may go way ward if it does not follow the rules of road, i.e. overlooking the concerns of the local people and the issues that are deeply embedded in the conflict. The Chief Minister of the state, Omar Abdullah, in a veiled reference to India’s policies, argued, Kashmir cannot be won by money or muscle power. Abdullah’s utterance has a value as it reflects sentiments of sections of the people in the valley.

Modi’s attempts at simultaneously taking forward peace process and development programs in Kashmir will not be smooth. India has not only to address the concerns of the alienated sections within Kashmir but also to negotiate effectively with Pakistan. However, Modi’s peace and development initiatives have won him many supporters in and outside the region. Any sincere attempt, howsoever miniscule, to address the grievances of alienated people needs to be applauded. But, how far Modi led government in New Delhi will be able to sustain speed and energy and address the concerns of the people of Kashmir remain to be seen.

(Published in Transcend Media Weekly)

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.