Fire in ice

Like few of my fellow Indians, who number in millions, i am also a silent spectator to the happenings on Kashmir. After the masthead in any newspaper, death of a person in Kashmir would've been the most consistent news for the past few decades. Whether that person was a terrorist, or a case of mistaken identity..who cares. Its as if, if there is someone in that cursed place they are either a terrorist or those who are expected to die a violent death sooner or later. Show me a Kashmiri who had died in peace i can bet you it wouldn't be on his native land.

I dont represent any international peace agency. Nor do i have a professional degree or training in broking peace. One fine day i decided to follow, what the heck is actually happening there. The reason for the dawn of that "fine" day being, i saw a picture of one pink salwar clad lady, throwing stones on some security guys, who in turn, where throwing back the stones. For the first time i saw such a raw anger in those otherwise peaceful eyes. There were some more ladies carrying plates and pans and where shouting slogans. Mind that those were not any political party driven brain washed people..but any common person..like you and me. If our government, the so called UNION government, is really doing the right thing, then why the common man is out on the streets, protesting??!!! How come there are more deaths due to security forces firing on civilians than all the militant attacks this year put together?? If the forces are there to protect the people from militants then how come there are more deaths under their custody?

I tried to follow the news channels for the past one week. Everyday they would report some death or other, with their camera person filming the stone throwing or the gun fight, "LIVE", without "caring" for his life and transmitting the incident to the viewers being the single sole purpose of his existence on earth. The newspapers too grew tired of word whacking Omar "the CM" Abdullah and resorted back to the corruption prone Commonwealth games (Even if its private property..our politicians will shamelessly swallow it...with a name "common wealth"..no wonder they misunderstood the meaning (sic)) In comes the land slide in Leh and flash floods in Gujarat..the burning issue goes back to the burner. Cmon...who wants to see the same incident of stone pelting and firing day in and day out. Even action movies have comic relief right?

I've only one question. What exactly do all these people want? Is it independence? Let it be given to them na? Stats show that there are more military persons per men in Kashmir than entire Iraq with all its multinational troops put together and we call ourselves the biggest democrazy (pun intended) in the world. When we can barge in and liberate Bangladesh from Pakistan..how much time does it going to take for a China or America to create a Kashmiristhan? Sooner or later this is bound to happen and i doubt even then if the guns will remain silent. If there is a survey on who wants war with Pakisthan there could be a split result. But if the same survey is rephrased as who wants Peace with Pakisthan, the result, i am sure would be a vehement and unanimous YES from everyone. For a change let it be peoples decision and not power mad politician's one which decide the fate of innocent civilians..who can't even enjoy a cell phone without the fear of it getting tapped. Can't go for an outing in their own lake..without the fear of getting killed or kidnapped. Can't enjoy the god given natural sceneries of their own state..without the fear of tripping on a landmine. Its nothing short of an open cage and where they are hunted and hounded by everyone.

Like every ordinary citizen of this country, i too crave for a cricket team where Asif, Aameer, Gul will compliment the batting lineup comprising of Sachin and Sehwag. A hockey team where Sohail Abbas drag flick will win us a Worldcup or even better.. an Olympic Gold. A tennis duo of Bopanna-Quereshi lifting the Davis cup. If not all this, there would be atleast silence and peace for my fellow human, let him not be an Indian or even a Kashmiri for that matter, which by itself would be the greatest joy possible.

Comments

RS said…
All said and done, it is 'their' calculated moves and politics that decide the fate. Sad that in a nation of over 2 billion, the decision of just a few thousands could make all landslides in internal security. We can only talk, Gils, for we are helpless about the consequences of all the silent/talking spectators that we are for over 50years now! :( :( :(
sri said…
hey

I was here first ,bt the stupid word verification wasnt working

Anyway,

I too share the same feeling that u mentioned in the first paragraph. Very well writtern , but aside that I feel very sorry for the fellow humans living there.

very shameful indeed!
Ramesh said…
I have a different point of view Gils. The Kashmiri people must take the prime responsibility for this - not politicians. When you flirt with terrorism and with secession, it comes back to back to bite you. World over it has happened again and again - Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, etc etc. Violence in the name of independence has only brought misery on the people. The policemen are not firing because they like to - they fire because they are attacked all the time. Its easy to blame politicians, but what would any of us do if we were ruling ? Kashmiris must renounce violence, full stop. Then a solution will come.
Anonymous said…
@athivasi:

maathiruvom athivasi madam..elathaiyum mathiruvom..mudhalla inga vaanga :)

@srivats:

its a shame indeed
Anonymous said…
@thalai:

if we look at the reason why anyone resort to violence..it wouldnt just trace back to the first thrown stone. Everyone will have their own history of violence and regret behind each of those stones thrown. Kannadasan sonna mathiri eriaratha pudingitta pogaiyarathu thaaana adangidum. Identify the reason for violence and u r thru. No mother wants to take to street fighting for her family. Solve her problem. Violence thaana adangidum.
Avada Kedavra said…
I kinda disagree Gils.. you know why we are fighting today right.. because somebody taught making Pakisthan a different country will solve issues.. it just created more issues for us.. so creating one more independent country would just create more problems.. if these things continue, we will end up 30 different countries instead of a single country..
Deekshanya said…
//Is it independence? Let it be given to them na? //
Thats exactly how I want to react! however would their demands stop here, what if they ask the next state to kashmir?

I think the best thing to do is to evacuate innocent people give them alternate life elsewhere in India, then hold the entire state of Kashmir with our military force. Can't the military forces of India safeguard one state?

I hope such turbulences come to a full stop with some miracle. My heart goes out to those who die a sad death wherever it may be, lanka,kashmir, assam .......

Very nice post, thought provoking.And about Commonwealth games scandal - please am ashamed of our people.
Anonymous said…
Nice post gils.
But what big difference can we make,sadly nothing.
I go with ramesh on Non-violence part.

Ambulisamma
Deepa said…
Since its my birth place, this issue is a little close to my heart. I'll go with Ramesh on this. There is more to it than what meets the eye. The Kashmiris in the 80s, were taking the Indians for such a ride by giving shelter to terrorists in an attempt to be independant. The politicians are running after their own vested interests. And with a neighbour who has a twisted view of everything, peace is a long shot away. Unfortunate but thats the reality. You are right, its as if its a cursed paradise. About giving the land to them, its not going to stop anything.
Anonymous said…
nope..me not for creating new countries...infact i dont suggest any solution at all. Had there been one..wouldnt it have been applied already :) my humble thoughts are for those poor victims...who are suffering for no fault of theirs. In any country majority of the people dnt give a damn who rules them or not. If they get their daily bread thats more than sufficient for them. Be it a pakistan flag or indian flag hardly matters to them. All these days it was the militants who were giving them trouble. Now its the army itself, in the name of their protection. can u imagine an armed convoy stopping you on the way to MG road..frisking you for your identity and ask u a zillion questions day in and day out..every time u venture out? my concern is not for the solution..but on the question...WHY ALL THIS?
Anonymous said…
@deeks:

:) a totally different, if not original idea :)assuming u r from chennai have u ever imagined being displaced to..say Patna or Calcutta..just because chennai needs to be cleansed off its miscreants??!!! its practically and physically not possible at all..for the people who protests do the same things as the militants..they all look the same now..no one able to distinguish between the bad and the good. thts the reason everyone is under scrutiny and all these blood shed i feel. Sitting in a place..which had barely witnessed any major political unrest like its northern counterparts..me, a common southerner..can hardly comment on such a delicate and sensitive topic. But to me..wen i see the blood shed and panicky people who scurry into their homes, amidst stone pelts and smoke screens..feels so sad to imagine their plight. What did they do to deserve this :(
Anonymous said…
@ambulimama:

hmmm..though i can understand the benefit of a non violent movement..i somehow cant agree to it..unga veetla oru naai vanthu thontharavu panna atha adichi viratuveengala ila biscuit poatu pechu vaarthai nadathuveengala..stl..if antha naai poitu oru gumabalaye kootitu vanthu tholla panna??!!! appo may be yosipen nenakren :)
Anonymous said…
// The Kashmiris in the 80s, were taking the Indians for such a ride by giving shelter to terrorists in an attempt to be independant//

wen ur own kith and kin take up arms and one fine day rush to u for shelter..wl u ignore them? i am not approving militancy. No way. Terrorism is the worser than plague with no cure. But again..if the person is an unknown..faceless nameless person..u can hate him..suppose he is ur own sibling or parent..wl u??!! again..my personal and humble opinion...blaming the bullet hardly solves the problem. dismantle the gun..issue is resolved. The troublemongers are only a handful..few politicians...few power mad generals..few guilty armymen..and few miscreants..the entire state of J and K reacts to their misgivings and the common men suffer because of the misdeeds of these handful of troublemongers. Eliminate them..peace wl prevail
Deepa said…
I never meant that we have to leave them on their own for they deserve what they have done. If you are thinking that these terrorists were fighting for some rights, or the Maoists somewhere else were fighting for rights, its all bullshit. The fact is the terrorists never have an intention of doing any good for the natives. You are from Chennai, if you ever wanted to change anything in your land, can you ever think of a violent solution, bombing and destroying your own land? To whom the land is sacred, he can never think of such ideas. The terrorists fooled & coerced the natives to fulfil their own agendas. Its now that Kashmiris atleast acknowledge that they are in trouble. Punjab was also as troubled as J&K btw, but today nobody will even imagine that once upon a time it was as bad as Kashmir. People of the land really make a difference. Right now, its the Indian Army fighting against terrorists without any support from the locals (it used to be because of hatred earlier, now they know who their true enemy is, but are scared to help. Had the Kashmir issue been an internal security matter of India, it wouldn't have lingered on for so long. Unfortunately, its a bilateral matter involving another brainless neighbour, who's whole purpose of existence is to create turbulence in India. And unfortunately, one doesn't have an option of shifting somewhere else either. So unless, the Kashmiris take a stand, this will go on. The addition to their woes is that their leaders have their own agenda of having an independant state. I am sure the Kashmiris must be cursed with some real bad karma to be living in that hell.

The presence of Army in Kashmir is because its not a minor case of riot or disturbance, its because the local security forces cannot handle the situation anymore. Agreed there can be lapses from the security personnel, but they are not idiots to deliberately make those errors. Show me one military controlled area which doesn't have a single incident of military shortcoming. You have a dossier of US Army with 90000 reports on wikileak now about war crimes in Afghanistan by US Army. In the conditions that these men work and the way they are trained, these incidents are part of life. A cancer can be treated only by a chemo, if the chemicals are too strong for a patient and makes him suffer more than the treatment of an average disease, can you blame the doctor? No, all you can do is empathize and hope for a cure.

The only point I would concur with you would be on having an empathy with those people for living through this hell.
Anonymous said…
@deeps:

True words. I admire your passion and its quite obvious as you said its about your native :)

You can douse fire by allowing the fuel to finish. And there are other options. I am not blaming the army here. NOPE definitely not. What is army if not the rest of India :) thats one place where you can find true representation of our country i believe. I see the presence of army in Kashmir as a synonym of the rest of the countries role in solving this issue. And the "mistakes" they might've done might be akin to an elder sibling punishing a younger one. But my heart is for the harried fellow kashmiri..who doesnt know what he want or shd do..to see the next sunrise.

For a person..who belongs to that part of the country..which had been relatively secure and less prone to "troubles" like Kashmir (touchwood)..my view would be skewed at best. I am not propogating or proposing the mode adopted by the protestors. Though violence sounds an immediate option it can never lead to a permanent solution. but who are these guys..y did they took the weapon on hands?? a small portion might be vagabonds and wastrels who even otherwise wouldnt have had anything worthwhile to do..but the majority comprise of well educated and bright people..who, in any other situation might have been a corporate citizen or even better..a peaceful farmer. Why these people..leave their normal life and take to militancy?? do they really understand the meaning of independence?? or is that wat they really want? or are these guys are so hypnotised by their leaders that they've lost their sense of thinking?? wat do they achieve by killing and destruction? all these questions can arise only in the minds of those who are spectators to this issue. Had any one been a victim or a perparator..they would just want to continue the glee. Wat the govt and the army are doing are reactive measures..even if the entire indian army is placed in kashmir..its not possible to weed out the entire terror setup. For every person killed..there wud be another who wud take up his cause in the name of vengeance and justice. Its like a deadlock situation where in the army has to step in to protect the common man..who himself is turning against them. So no wonder they are confused as to who they are supporting and who they are fighting against. Pity there is no one in India at present..who command respect from every person..good and bad. Wish there is someone whom people will listen to..like one Mr. Gandhi.
Deepa said…
Well what makes these people work (the terrorists) is a real mystery. Their leaders play on psyche and take advantage of lack of education. There is no awareness in the people about whats happening in the world outside. However, lately, we have also seen very well educated youth as terrorists. Somehow, that world is completely disconnected to this world by some fanatics who are hell-bent on carrying on this ugly battle.

And people in south are way way ahead in awareness and education. No fanatic can take things to such an extent in this part because dumb ideas won't survive. But that land has not had any visionary leader for centuries and people never got a chance to stand up on their feet, let alone understand what they want and what they are wishing for. Its such an easy mob to sway.
Janit said…
Nice insight Deepa.....i think the least we bloggers can do is spread the word.
lostworld said…
Speechless.. looks like there was an active volcano in you for quite some time. I kinda agree with what you say. I also hope they just give Kashmiris what they want. Separate state-take it? merge with Pak-by all means. But there has to be an end somewhere to this ceaseless violence.
gils said…
@deeps:
people in south have been "glorious" examples of what people with little bit charm and gud command on their diction can achieve. Mob mentality is a major bane of the entire country i guess..right from pre independent days..or maybe it got into all our genes??!! anyways...situation here is not that great either. Telengana for Andhra..belgaum for karnataka..kachhateevu for TN..each one has its own territory issue. When u actually drilldown to figure who is reallllly interested in flagging these fires..they wud be a handful of people. My idea would be to eliminate those creeps. Nip them right at the heart and all these crap cools down.
gils said…
@LW:
hey :) welgum back...romba naala aala kaanum? :)

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