“Are the politicians and bureaucrats being humorous? Far from it. Civil unrest has become big business in politics. And they thrive in it. That is why so many with criminal record want to enter the parliament. Some become ministers too.”
(August 28, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The statistics on militancy and terrorism in Kashmir is grim and alarming. I wonder how many Indians, who follow the peccadilloes of Bollywood stars avidly, read it. Here it is for those who want to know;
"A total of 42,147 people, including 20,647 militants and 5,024 security personnel were killed in the State between January 1990 and the middle of February 2007... Violence left 33,885 people, including 12,124 security personnel and 21,659 civilians injured during the same period in the State... 11,221 civilians were killed by militants and another 1,678 lost their lives in grenade and Improvised Explosive Device explosions, while 173 civilians were killed when they were caught in clashes between militants. A total of 3,404 civilians were killed in cross-firing incidents between security forces and militants... The highest number of 1,438 civilians were killed in 1996, the year elections were held after a gap of seven year, while the highest number of 3,602 Army and other paramilitary personnel lost their lives fighting militants in the same year. Jammu and Kashmir Police lost 537 personnel since January 1990.
As many as 438 Special Police Officers engaged by the police in counter-insurgency operations were killed. 127 Village Defence Committee members were killed fighting militants in the State. 613 security personnel were killed in a single year in 2001, which was again the highest."
These are the figures only up to 2007. Already eight months more in 2008 are gone and the statistics can only grow more.
Now mainstream political parties of the valley would rather seek to open the road to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan for trade, rather than open the road to their own country blocked in Jammu. Some of them want Pakistan currency to become legal tender there. Few others are proudly flying Pak flags.
And our TV channels are having whale of a time, showing images of houses burning and police firing teargas shells on mobs, while politicians who were in power and did nothing talk of solutions to problems by people to people contact. And endless committee meetings of groups of ministers, secretaries, and polticians will follow in Delhi or Jammu. And more people are dying.
Are the politicians and bureaucrats being humorous? Far from it. Civil unrest has become big business in politics. And they thrive in it. That is why so many with criminal record want to enter the parliament. Some become ministers too.
Is the Kashmir issue a communal one? Is it due to a few hectares of forest land being leased to a Hindu shrine? Is it due to hundreds of Jihadi terrorists armed and trained in Pakistan infiltrating into Kashmir? Is it due to lack of development opportunities for Kashmiris? Is it due to human rights violations by police and security forces? Is it the activity of VHP and Hindu fundamentalists increasing the communal divide? Is it due to a few hundred thousand Kashmiri Pandits fleeing their homes in the Valley to escape Muslim wrath? Is it due to the failure of the security forces to effectively put down extremism?
These are the causes politicians and apologists for those in power repeatedly give in talk shows on the current situation in Kashmir. One can see a conspicuous omission in the whole list: the failure of the State to assert its right to govern fairly and firmly.
Well, the problem in Kashmir is beyond all these. It is the failure of successive governments in Delhi to assert their right rule over a state though they repeatedly remind the world is a part of India. It is as simple as that. It represents the monumental failure of Indian polity to deliver the goods they promised when they take oath as members of legislatures. They don't want to call a spade a spade and hide behind a play of words for their inaction.
And it is time, they paused for a moment and honestly searched their hearts, corroded by lust for power and corrupted by wealth. Who will do that? To be honest, I have no hopes, for all of us and the poor Kashmiris. It's Kashmir today when will it be our turn?
(Col. R Hariharan, a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90.He is associated with the South Asia Analysis Group and the Chennai Centre for China Studies.
E-mail:colhari@yahoo.com)
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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