Saadat.in Blog

Well, the crisis now has ended and the life in Jammu is returning to normal. I am happy that only USER RIGHTS were given to the shrine board and that too rent free. All the agitators in Jammu would also be freed and the government would be paying for all the losses they suffered during their agitation. Again a good gesture by the government. But, what about Kashmir, won’t Kashmiris be pacified. Won’t the fruit growers be compensated. And won’t the innocent protesters, who were murdered, be compensated. Won’t the truck drivers, who were attacked by HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS, be compensated. Won’t the patients, who suffered because of the unavailability of medicines due to ECONOMIC BLOCKADE, be compensated. If Jammu can be compensated for losses in business caused because of their own agitation, why wont Kashmir be compensated because of the economic blockade they enforced. We have an equal right to be compensated. Or as usual this right would also be denied.

Government should be providing adequate compensation to all the Kashmiris to come out of the trauma they just experienced. At this moment, Kashmiris are feeling estranged and this is the time when the government can win their hearts. The government is considering to open the road to Azad Kashmir unilaterally, and this decision has to be lauded by the masses. But, if the government had already been considering this proposal, why did the troops shoot at innocent protesters killing several people. But the most important incentive to Kashmir is yet to be given, revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Why doesn’t the government abolish this law?  I, in my personal views feel, that the Security Forces want to credit some more the so called terrorists. The TERRORISTS they kill mostly turn out to be innocent civilians who even don’t know what would be happening to them.  A baker named Inayat-ullah, who was a little bit disturbed mentally, went to the security forces asking them to clear his dues. They asked him to come next time. When he was approaching their camp, the next time, they shot him dead. And later claimed that this UNKNOWN PERSON was trying to enter their camp forcibly even after a warning was issued. Is this what they need AFSPA for? The square where he was killed has been named after him Shaheed Inayat-ullah Chowk, but would it make any difference for his family, they’ve lost him forever.

We, Kashmiris, can be compensated by the government in only one way that is the the revocation of this draconian law. This law has already cost us more than two hundred thousand brothers and we don’t want to loose more. Abolishing this law won’t harm the Indian Government in any way, but indeed, it would help save thousands of Kashmiri lives. It would help us to contest their illegal occupation of our buildings, or houses, our plots, our orchards. It would help us to resist their tyranny. It would help us to live a dignified life without any fear.It would help our women folk to travel fearlessly. It would help us to travel during the night too. And most important of all, these forces can be booked for the crimes they commit against us. The military rule would end and democracy would come into play. A democracy, rather a secular democracy, that rest of India can’t even dream of, until they stop supporting the Saffron Brigade. Lets build the largest secular democracy, or if you are  unwilling, then turn India into a Hindu Republic.

Attacks on Kashmiris continue, despite repeated assurances by the governor. Many truck drivers have returned back to the valley telling their  woeful tales. The HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS are increasingly targeting  Kashmiris, attacking them using petrol bombs and sometimes even burning them. They are harassed and their trucks torched. The governor announced that it was safe for Kashmiris to export their fruit produce, but on 19th, the drivers were again attacked. This questions the commitment of the governor of removing the economic blocade and allowing free movement of trucks.

Now coming to my views. I don’t understand what makes innocent Kashmiris their target. During the agitation here,in Kashmir, not a single non-muslim was harassed. And instead they (non-muslims) also participated in our agitation, because the issue was not communalized here. The protests were a medium to stop the land transfer to non-Kashmiris. I fail to understand from where the religion came into the protests. The support of our sikh brothers should be lauded as they walked hand in hand with us during the protests and also provided Langars at various places.

Its very astonishing to learn that BJP, which is spear-heading the protests and communalizing  this issue, itself has limited Kavad yatra in Uttarkhand. Citing environmental reasons, the BJP government itself reduced the number of pilgrims who could attend the yatra and also reduced its duration. They have limited the number of pilgrims to 150 per day and closed down all the food outlets, banned the movement of general public and ponies. If they can limit the yatra to save Goumukh glacier, why doesn’t anyone think about the Kolohoi glacier. Just because ours is a Muslim majority state, these baseless points are being raised. How can they stop yatra in their state and then raise such issues in other state? In this case, where did their Hindutva attitude go. How could they allow this thing to happen in a state ruled by themselves? Its clear that they are doing this to gain vote bank. Quoting Sachin Pilot, a Congress MP, ‘We should be very thankful to BJP. What Pakistan couldn’t do in 20 years, BJP did it in 10 days.’ He said this while commenting on division of state.

The major solution to end this crisis is to divide the state. Jammu along with Kathua and half of the Udhampur should constitute a separate state. Also Indian government should consider repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which entitles the Indian security forces to arrest anyone or shoot on mere suspicion. Second one is opening the LOC for trade purposes and allow free movement of Kashmiris. The last one would be freeing all the political prisoners.

The Indian government has been doing a hell load of injustices to us. The protests in Jammu were more violent than in Kashmir. Still more protesters died in Kashmir. The people in Jammu burnt “The Holy Qur’an”, while as no disrespect was shown towards any religion here in Kashmir. Still more kashmiris were killed. The Jammuites enforced an economic blocade on Kashmir. when Kashmiris protested they were again killed. I ask these questions to every human being, whenever we ask for our fundamental rights, why do we always get bullets? Why is a Kashmiri life so under-valued? Why are our sentiments always played with? If India considers us a part of it, then why does it have such an indifferent attitude towards Kashmiris? Perhaps there would be no answer to my questions, because no one ever wants to answer them. It hardly matters to them that daily we loose a brother and eventually we have become used to it. Everyone wants and has the right to live a peaceful life, but here you don’t let us do the same.