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No lessons learnt

Kashmir Times. Dated: 7/20/2016 8:20:31 AM

New Delhi refuses to learn lessons and take steps for meaningful dialogue with Kashmiris

During the parliamentary debate on Kashmir, union home minister Rajnath Singh response of assurance of opening channels of dialogue with youth in Kashmir after calm returns should have sounded promising and ought to have imbued hope. Only it doesn't. The answer to the why of it is not difficult to seek. In fact, there are several reasons. First of all, such rhetoric at a time when the entire security grid is busy in not just violating the liberty of Kashmir's population but also brutally killing and maiming people in the Valley, where they do not know of any other means of crowd control makes little sense. Two civilians including a woman were killed in Qazigund by the security forces while the minister was making this suggestion, talking about waiting for calm and also adding that no more bullets would be fired and mobs will be dealt "only with teargas and water cannons". Incidents of violence and street protests in recent years bear testimony to the fact that it is not only the kind of weapons used in combating protesting mobs that can be defined as lethal or non-lethal, it is also about the way they are used, without adequate training and with a vengeance. The pellet guns and chilly sprays were introduced by the government in 2010 and called 'non-lethal'. Only they did not turn out to be as non-lethal as the government wanted people to believe. They killed many and they left even a bigger number physically impaired forever. In the last ten days, they have been used with far greater venom. Needless to point out that even tear gas shells, which are not shot in the air, as should be the norm, but shot at by targeting people above the waist and from a close range have turned lethal in Kashmir and have been the cause of many deaths. Better crowd control gear for security forces and adequate training in controlling mobs with restraint is important for maintaining law and order, instead of allowing security forces to go berserk and trigger a worse law and order situation. Most certainly, yes! However, Kashmir is not simply a law and order problem, it is a political one.
A patronisingly made statement of desire to visit the Valley and have a dialogue with people directly is no substitute for political intervention. It does not have a healing effect but instead sounds like doles being offered from a self proclaimed position of benevolence. "Kashmiris are our own people. We will bring them on the right path... We will make them aware of the reality," is what Rajnath Singh said on the floor of the parliament, blaming Pakistan and calling people of Kashmir as 'misguided'. The reality is that the government is blinded by its own arrogance and traditional policy of treating Kashmir like a casual problem to actually show some sincerity in learning what the people want, leave alone enter into a meaningful dialogue. The reality is that this government with its head buried in the sand like an ostrich refuses to learn any lessons. What kind of dialogue takes place when the 'reality' of the other side has already been pre-judged and decided? Had Rajnath not appended the 'ifs and buts', an assurance of dialogue would still have been meaningless, at least at this juncture. This, not only because his assurance of security forces have been asked to maintain restraint falling flat with two fresh deaths in the Valley but also because years of repression and brutality coupled with failed attempts at dialogue and interlocution in the past have made the Kashmiris embittered and skeptical. Whether it was opening channels with Hurriyat leaders, holding round table conferences or sending interlocutors or finalizing reports on Kashmir, many of which call for making the atmosphere conducive for dialogue by introduction of genuine confidence building measures like demilitarization, removal of AFSPA, gearing up the legal justice system to fairly probe cases of violations. Even today, if there is space for dialogue and a political intervention, these small but significant measures continue to be some of the imperative steps if Indian government wants to prove its sincerity to the people of Kashmir before opening channels of communication. Without such a road-map in mind, statements like Rajnath's will only perform the job of rubbing salt over the wounds of Kashmiri masses.