Misconceived Meet

Gopi Nath Raina Ed Koshur Samachar Dec. 1991

They came, they talked and they dispersed, but not before feasting on delicacies of Kashmiri cuisine. The T food was rich and filling But the talk was meaningless and hollow The 13th November All-Party meet on Kashmir, as it was euphemistically called produced nothing more than what was commonly predicted-a long-winded sermon by the Home Minister one more submission to the terrorists to come and talk, and another affirmation of the faith of the credulous in the power of the so-called political process, no matter what the ground realities are.

It was a ceremony that was to be performed But the central elements and characters were conspicuous by their absence The Kashmiri Hindus who have borne the brunt of the holocaust, were brazenly and determinedly kept out. They, of course, have the first right to speak and be listened to with respect and attention. This is for several reasons

First let it be understood by the government, the nation and the world at large that there has been no enmity in living memory between the Muslims and the Hindus in the Valley on the basis of religion. Till very recently, complete harmony, tolerance and mutual reverence existed for each others faith and beliefs.

It was only because the Hindus of Kashmir were painted for reasons of strategy suiting the enemy in Pakistan, as representing India that we were made the target for their double purpose of taking out the fundamentalists anger against the "hateful India and ridding Kashmir of all traces of India to attain their objective We, as true and loyal Indians, suffered all the devastation only in the name of the nation and its government.

Secondly, we know and understand, as few else can, the mind and the psyche, the aspirations and ambitions of the common people of the Valley. We have gone through political thick and thin together, especially since the first stirrings of revolt against established authority in 1930s. We know the lay of the land as much as we know and understand the nuances of their words, gestures and steps that reveal their inner well- guarded thoughts

Nor should our potential be estimated by our numbers alone. Our just cause, our miseries, our unshakeable loyalty to our country have all won us friends the world over. In this respect we are not weak and vulnerable any more.

It is a pity and an irony that the few others, who could understand their idiom and fruitfully communicate with them, also were ignored. There exist elements among Kashmiri Muslims who do not go with the terrorists all the way and yet are held in some regard and esteem by them. There are also a few Kashmiri Hindus living out of the Valley who are trusted for their non-political love for the land and who can converse with the militants with detachment. None of these were at the meet. And those who were are just the ones whose presence alone would have generated irritation and distrust and disgust among the extremists as much as it did in our suffering community.

Having said this one would like to find who or what is it that impels the Government of India to be looking for a "political process in Kashmir, as it has come to be described.

No doubt, the theory has its votaries, each having his own reasons to propound it Few are, however informed by the interests of the country and its people alone.

In any case, which are the political parties and where are the leaders, if any of the conventional ones have been left, to be brought into it? As one looks around, one cannot see even a single soul who would have the gumption to go home to the Valley today without a fortress around him, leave alone selling the farcical propositions this exercise of parleys may produce.

The components of power structure in the Valley are virtually taken over by the subversives The Government keeps warm company with those erstwhile political forces which have been responsible for the present crisis It feels no qualms of self-esteem in repeatedly requesting the lawless elements with bended knees to spare time to listen to its pleadings And it refuses to feel the shame of being rejected every time with a NO, more humiliating than the last

A true political stability can never be secured before establishing a credible administrative authority and assertion. Only a naive would believe that, in the Valley, softness and surrender on basic principles would act as a magic wand for terrorists to come round to reason and responsibility. India has tried all this during the past 44 years, again and again, notwithstanding the failures i met every time. The big Abdullah was granted everything he asked for, and much more without his asking, both when he was a roaring young "Tion in 1947 and later when he lay dozing and stricken in 1974 Both times he first seized it all with almost seal but soon thereafter returned to his hungry ways, spilling venom and disdain against the very persons who had reared him.

His son, the flambauyant Farooq Abdullah saw manna falling into his lap without his having to move even the lule finger. He played with that power and prestige with untold funds and fortune like a wanton child of recklessly doting parents. They watched him spilling it all through the fingers and yet did nothing to bring him round before it was too late GM Shah followed. For him even a brief sojourn into the garden of power was long enough to lay it to waste while the people bear their breasts but the powers-that be looked the other way

For these leaders' it was truly said that their hunger grew by what they were fed upon. And also that the more they indulged in their destructive games, the less they got its desserts. Yet they were by no means juveniles at politics or puppets in crafty hands. They were familiar with politics as it is practised, its gross as much as its finer methods, its subtleties and decencies and the safe limits of even treachery.

Today is wholly different. The terrorist who is holding the country to ransom is but a shadow, performing T by remote control. He has numerous faces and voices Which ones of these would the Government of India recognise to bring to the table for talks? Which ones would represent the stand and substance of the subversives? And who could establish their credibility and true authority on behalf of the extremists? The government must take the nation into confidence with clear-cut answers.

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Courtesy : 1991 December Koshur Samachar