Er. P. L. Khushu
Spurious and irrelevant utterances of a so-called senior and a seasoned political heads of the main political party of Kashmir sometimes makes a person to believe that such statements look like rubbing salt to bleeding wounds of the victims of terrorists acts in the valley, when it is quite unfortunate and disgusting. This apart from getting applied to all the victims of these terror acts, be it the security forces, the non-Kashmiris, the migrant labourers, it sounds like a heinous outbursts of such leaders about the aboriginals of Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits. Of late a versatile political leader from the valley is heard as saying that at this juncture of time, the atmosphere is not conducive for return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the valley. It is a disgusting statement of a senior political leader, when allegedly all these political leaders are the proximal silent abettors in this planned culture of terrorism and terrorism through their irrelevant utterances from time to time for their vote bank politics. Should they have a reply to a big question that when such political leaders ruled the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir for more than ten years, what positive steps were taken by them to ensure the return of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, who were driven out of Kashmir, due to the apathies shown by all such leaders towards this problem of terrorism, resulting in extreme Pan-Islamic fundamentalism, in Jammu & Kashmir. We have heard of some alliance known as ‘Gupkar Alliance’, a conglomerate group of dynastic rulers of Kashmir who have lost their dubiously acquired crown of ruling Jammu & Kashmir, due to the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A, when Jammu & Kashmir is undoubtedly now a full Indian state, without any hiccups and politically motivated unacceptable conditions. Yes every Indian citizen has a right to form any alliance to give vent to their feelings be it political or otherwise. So such a conglomerate group passed a declaration known as ‘Gupkar Declaration’ expressing their concern about the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A. This alliance surfaced on many times suiting their political timings and opportunities to issue various statements in support of their political concerns which is their fundamental right. But should a dormant and a pointed question be asked from this Gupkar Alliance, as to why this alliance did not publically, through a public or press statement or as a ‘Gupkar Declaration’ condemn the recent inhuman and heinous killings in Kashmir, which apart from including two Kashmiri Pandits, includes non-Kashmiri street-vendors, the migrant laborers and above all an innocent young Sikh female teacher, which has made this act as an act of barbarians and brutes. By shedding crocodile tears by these leaders individually on such brutish and inhuman acts of the terror out fits, makes no sense. Are they afraid of issuing a condemnable statement against the terror out fits, or they are privy to it. In both cases, it is a susceptible anomaly to be believed that such acts of terror outfits, suits their political requirements for their vote bank politics. Such leaders heading prominent political parties in Kashmir have never passed any resolutions from the individual platforms, condemning the acts of genocide, forced displacements and sufferance’s caused to the Kashmiri pundits due to Pan Islamic terrorism in Kashmir for the last thirty years. Now speaking about the plight of Kashmiri pundits after about thirty years of their agonies and reckless sufferance’s from their cozy drawing rooms of their palatial houses from Jammu, is almost an act of befooling such situations, when Kashmiri Pandits of the valley know as to who are their real enemies. To befool the situation and the people who are the worst sufferers of the terrorism in Kashmir are covert attempts of such leaders, as Kashmiri Pandits cannot be fooled like this. Such political leaders are living in ‘Fools Paradises’ for their behaviors. They should see their faces in round mirrors and accept that they are now spent forces in their political arenas. Their reared and groomed political stalwarts from Jammu are now abandoning such political parties, after feeling that such political parties and persons have betrayed the people of Jammu and exploited their conspicuous silence for their personal benefits to remain in power permanently. A dictum has been issued now by one of such leaders, that the situation is not conducive for the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits to valley. Do they know it in advance, thus privy to it? It sounds like a good warning to Kashmiri Pandits not to try to come back to their original locations of Kashmir. Did they ever drum beat any concern about Kashmiri pundits plights from their Gupkar Nests, through the medium of Gupkar Alliance. Did these leaders during their dynastic rules in Jammu & Kashmir, ever vouch for the removing the sufferings and the genocide with their return back to Valley. How come after about 31 years of sufferance and genocide of Pandits of the valley, they have all of a sudden started becoming proxy sympathizers of Kashmiri Pandits. These leaders are already identified by the Pandits of Kashmir, as they were the political leaders who opposed the settlement of Kashmiri Pandits back in the valley in cluster accommodations, while being in power from time to time. It is nothing new with such leaders who have always blown hot and cold in the same breath on the political issues of Kashmir and suffers for their vote bank politics. The recent brutal killings by cowards of the Pan-Islamic terrorists in Srinagar speak volumes about its origin and the motives behind such of the killings. Humanity all around is in deep anguish and sorry for their acts. The saner sections of the civil society in Kashmir which constitutes a major chunk of elderly Muslims, are very much regretful and sorrowful for such acts of these timid Jehadi radicals, who have violated the covenants of Islam by killing a woman and unarmed men for the fancy of their ridiculous reasons of declaring all such slain people as the representatives of India in Kashmir or for having hoisted the Indian flag somewhere on the independence day. Terrorism has thus raised its ugly head in Kashmir Valley yet again. On October 2, terrorists killed Majid Ahmad Gojri and Mohammad Shafi Dar for their alleged links with the security forces in Srinagar. On October 5, terrorists killed well known medico eminent person Makhan Lal Bindroo, whose family has set-up a medical shop in the Valley back in 1947 and would serve all irrespective of cast and religion. He was gunned down at his shop in the high-security zone of Iqbal Park area. Others killed include Virendra Paswan, a street food vendor originally hailing from Bhagalpur in Bihar, and Mohammed Shafi Lone a resident of Naidkhai village, who headed an association of taxi owners in Shahgund village in Bandipora. On October 7, two teachers, Deepak Chand, a Kashmiri Pandit and Satinder Kour, a Sikh woman, became latest to fall to bullets of terrorists. This spate of killings shows that terror groups are out to destabilize the region once again targeting people hailing from vulnerable minorities like Kashmiri Pandits (KP) and Sikhs. They are also not sparing patriotic and secular Muslims. On October 17, three non-local labourers from Bihar were fired upon by terrorists in Wanpoh, Kulgam. Two of them died on the spot. The slain were identified as Raja Reshi Dev and Joginder Reshi Dev and the injured was identified as Chunchun Reshi Dev. All are residents of Bihar. On such killings it was said by one of the noted political leaders of a prominent political party of Kashmir, that the civilian killings in Kashmir were happening ‘as part of a conspiracy and Kashmiris are not involved in such incidents’. Addressing media persons he is on record to have said that said: ‘The conspiracy to kill innocent civilians has been hatched with a design to defame Kashmiris.’ He also termed these incidents as ‘an attempt to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere’ in J&K. ‘These killings are taking place to defame the locals and is also an attempt to disturb the situation in Kashmir,’ as per him. He has been conspicuously silent to elaborate the element of conspiracy in all such killings as spoken by him. Whose conspiracy is it? Why should not it be said and condemned through the mouth piece of ‘Gupkar- Alliance’, as an act of conspiracy by Pakistan and thus condemn the same in the interest of the people of Kashmir on the fundamental principles of morality of such political leaders. To call it a conspiracy to defame the Kashmiri Muslims, it should have been exhibited by the civil society of Kashmir, which constitutes the majority of Muslims, by coming on roads in anger against Pakistan and condemned Pakistan, under the leadership of such leaders who give illusory statements without clarifying the situations. Such irrelevant statements without elaborating the monster or the preceptor or the organizer of such a conspiracy, when it is fully known that Pakistan is the snake behind such conspiracies, are very much poisonous in nature, just to show symbolic sympathy to the Muslims of Kashmir for the vote bank politics of such leaders for their personal gains and benefits.
It is repeatedly being said by some of the most prominent political leaders of Kashmir that ‘Talk to Pakistan’, irrespective of the fact as to what to talk about and why. This repeated corroborative verbose of proposing that ‘Talk to Pakistan’ has been the one sentence dictum of sympathy of these leaders for Pakistan from the Indian soil and apparently will continue to use it in future too, for apparent reasons of showing sympathy towards Pakistan for their vote bank politics. Alas, this ‘otherwise’ is always visible and its repercussions are felt on ground instantaneously. Whenever such propositions come from such leaders of Kashmir, Pakistan in its obligatory gesture to these leaders, obliges the situation by creating one or the other problem in Jammu and Kashmir through the terror routes and the like, when the obvious result is the civilian killings apart from disturbance in peace. Since freedom of speech in India is available to every citizen of India, these political leaders may give all such differential statements to address their individual political constituencies under such liberties. But it should with done with some sense of responsibility as the bona – fide citizens of India and they should refrain from giving such fiery statements which always jeopardizes the security scenario in J & K, resulting in loss of lives and civil disturbances of various natures, immediately after such ironical statements emanate from them. The government of the day should take a serious note of all such irrelevant statements of these leaders, when it becomes a nascent cause of adding to the devastating dimensions of the results of the terror acts of Pakistan in Kashmir. It may mean even to invoke the appropriate law for the stoppage of such utterances by such political leaders.
(The author is a Chartered Consultant Civil Engineer, passionately attached to his Motherland – Jammu & Kashmir).