KASHMIR – URGENCY TO RE-IMAGINE THE PROCESS

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An unusual conversation between a Kashmiri father and son, recently hogged prime time. The father was heard encouraging his son, trapped in a firefight with Army, to die fighting and not surrender. The father, despite his act lives a free man, a law-abiding citizen, while the son, a dead terrorist, now, is statistics and a locally celebrated martyr.

Dissected frame-by-frame and discussed ad nauseam, most “experts”, advocated military retributions, while a minuscule few sounded genuinely concerned. Panellists, irrespective of individual socio-political compulsions, agreed that glorification and ground swell for “home-grown terror” is luring local youth to terrorism like never before and that one man’s “terror” could well be another man’s “movement of resistance”.

The peace process in Kashmir, should have ideally moved forward, with the current political tie up being at the helm. Increasing incidence of confrontation between security forces and “terrorists”, and its expanding geographical spread with active participation of the local populace, indicate that the current policies have failed or are hopelessly irrelevant. What should worry policy makers at this stage beyond the increasing frequency and spread, is the readiness with which the local population is being recruited and the manner in which educational institutions are turning into sourcing bases. When parents become facilitators, respected professionals and highly educated youth join ranks, “terrorism” in Kashmir is no more a refuge of the unemployed. Treating it as a mere law and order problem can be catastrophic.

The hawkish, often recommend implementation of policies and practices pursued by successive Israeli governments, little realising that despite all strong-arm interventions, peace is still an elusive dream on the Jewish soil. While military may be successful in temporarily containing “visible violence”, it can’t be the means to the end. In fact, such operations are classic “David-Goliath” confrontations where the underdog grabs, sympathetic glory, breeding a new wave of suicidal volunteers. Whatever be the policy of the current ruling administration, it is a proven failure. Activities undertaken in the valley to "win hearts and minds" (WHAM) of people have yielded no credible results.

Like all multi-player socio-political issues, where over time, positions have hardened, concessions or agreements made by one side can be interpreted as victory or defeat, solutions lie far beyond the normal. Unless all parties concerned, engage each other with the sole aim of finding a solution, there can be no end in sight to the problem. Macho rhetoric and short-term political expediency can only worsen the situation. Absurd panel discussions and chest thumping that stem from ignorance couched in loud patriotism can at best bring down issues of strategic importance to street level thuggery and make solutions that much harder to find. Unfortunately, the trajectory of activities currently visible to the naked eye, points to escalation and spread of conflict.

Kashmir is not a problem that can eternally be contained by military, to be solved politically, at leisure. Any further delay can only carry the situation to the point of no return. It is time to re-visit and reimagine the Kashmir peace process.