Killing after killing in Kashmir has an ominous ring. Blood is being splattered and the landscape is becoming scary. The killing of innocents is not new to Kashmir and therefore it should not come as a surprise, though of course, the blood-soaked images are shocking as ever. This is not some poem that is being recited , these are cold blooded murders of Sarpanch, panch, policeman, CRPF troopers, army jawan, and others.
There is absolutely no need to have a closer look because the closer one goes to the images of the men lying in pool of blood or being carried to graveyards, the scarier it gets. There is a message of blood and murder and these tales are buried with blames being hurled across the border, which is an undeniable fact that Pakistan is definitely having its hand behind the killings, creating an ecosystem of terror, but other side of the truth is that there are newly recruited militants from the land of Kashmir, with a sprinkling of Pakistani militants. Their smart phones are the best recruitment devices , and the motivation is not always pumped through appeal for “ jihad” through guns, it is radicalism that appears on the screen of phones.
Today’s Kashmir cannot be viewed in isolation, as used to the case in 1990s- Pakistan, training camps, frenzy for “Azadi” or freedom that they sought through massive processions, intimidation of minorities, using guns almost everywhere, hit and run and then taking refuge in homes or places of worship with the human wall of women there to save them from chasing paramilitary personnel. In 2022, Kashmir represents multiple faces of militancy.
The late 1980s had two phases – denial of democratic rights, which triggered an urge for “liberation “ from what they c called imposed system on them. . It is quite wrong to say that the rigging in the 1987 elections was responsible for bringing gun culture to Kashmir. It was the 1983 polls, polarized on the communal, regional and sub regional lines that became the source for the armed militancy. The 1987 polls were a critical addition to the frustration and anger of the youth. Delhi was equal partner in denying the fair chance to the people in electing their representatives for it patronized the parties and leaders whom it thought were credible and could keep the idea of India afloat. Delhi fell into their trap, and ultimately what happened was that these very leaders appeased the fundamentalists and their toxic education.
Second phase was criminalization of militancy. The militants were as corrupt literally that they wanted to make money and satisfy their lust, many stories of their torture and acts of brutality got buried because speaking against them meant inviting the unsigned death warrants The militants were seeking what they called “political liberation for Kashmir” by subjecting their fellow citizens to all brutalities. There was a time when the people were hanged to death from tree branches with a tag of being informers ..The history of Kashmir in the past over three decades is rife with such instances and untold stories. The truth is struggling to come out. The search for truth has been decimated.
Role of Pakistan in Kashmir issue
Pakistan is doing what it has been doing for decades, indoctrinating youngsters, earlier it was handing them with guns and grenades, AK47s and magazines with the sole objective of making Kashmir a killing field. There was a frenzy, and the frenzied men are antidote to reasoning and rationale. Now the basic question is, why are the youngsters finding Pakistani propaganda to cause troubles and then die in the encounters with security forces, attractive. They have a choice on their smart phones to watch and listen to something that can shape their future in the bright spotlight. Maybe one of the reason, as we have discovered, is that Pakistan is worried over the youngsters increasingly looking toward peace-time and developmental activities. Psychologically when religion is used as a tool, the youth of this era get attracted to the wrong things.
What sends a shock wave in the evening bulletin is the killing of the non-combatants, or the troopers and army personnel who were home on leave. This, for a while, puts a blind curtain on the situation. The daily killings make it worse. This is a time to rethink about Kashmir- not just to stop the killings but to trace and neutralize the source of this ugly situation.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
