By Saji Varghese
The latest goodwill gesture of India is the willingness of the Prime Minister of India to spend the festival of lights with the people of Kashmir who suffered immensely due to the recent floods in the hills of the state. Many would have thought that there would be peace in the Kashmir after seeing the efforts of India’s rescue mission which included even militant inhabited areas of the hills. Several thousand villages across the state were affected and 350 villages had been submerged. Despite the valiant efforts of the rescuers, hundreds of lives were lost. According to government sources nearly 300 people lost their lives in the Indian Territory and in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) too, the numbers were similar. Residential and commercial properties lost in the floods would take a long time to rebuild. The government of India had announced a package of one thousand crore for rehabilitation. While the Prime Minister spent Diwali with the affected people of Kashmir shelling and firing across the border continued with full force. Many residents of bordering villagers had to flee in search of shelter as the houses were targeted and that was a threat to their lives.
The Nobel Peace prize of 2014 for Malala Yousafzai was received with much applause by enlightened and concerned people of both India and Pakistan. While in India, among its native Muslims, she is acclaimed as a figure of reform and progress, it is not so with the radical elements of Pakistan. ‘Indian Muslims will live and die for India’, these words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi give a sense of security and assurance to the people of India where race, colour, religion etc are not above one’s feeling for nationhood. Peace is what we desire and we are aware it cannot be won through coercion. How about the event of the visit of an Indian, senior journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik to Pakistan to meet not just the politicians, Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif but also one of the most wanted terrorists for India Hafiz Saeed? Saeed is wanted for the 26/11 attacks in India and is not only responsible for the killing of 166 people, but has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan! Though this visit has not gone down well with many in India the statement made by Ved Pratap Vaidik is significant as he says “I believe the only way is dialogue and I am open to meeting anyone as a journalist.” It reflects the desire of a nation to always live in harmony with the other, which is only a creation of history. While the media, elite etc. of this part of the border make such sincere attempts, the response has always been discouraging thus leading to chaos in the bordering villages.
Kashmir seems the common agenda and every aspiring leader of Pakistan raises this issue to make a political entry or gain acceptance with the people of Pakistan. Instances are many. Look at the most recent one. In a fresh rant against India, Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto vowed to wrest Kashmir from India. “When I raise Kashmir, the entire Hindustan screams. They know when a Bhutto speaks, they (Indians) have no answer,” Bhutto said. “We will take back Kashmir from India,” he continued amidst thundering applause by thousands of supporters at the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Anyone trying to make an entry to Pakistani politics and to get acceptance from the people uses Kashmir as a slogan which seems to ensure them a firm ground. Let us take another instance. In the wilderness for a long time, former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf made an anti-India rant by saying Pakistan needs to “incite” those fighting” in Kashmir. “We have sources (in Kashmir) besides the (Pakistan) army…People in Kashmir are fighting against (India). We just need to incite them,” the retired general, who is currently on bail in a treason case, said. How about our well known cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan, chief of Tehreek-i-Insaf who promised to liberate Pakistan from the clutches of the monarchic rule of Nawaz Sharif, the present prime Minister of Pakistan? He also spoke on Kashmir and the need of extending support to the ‘freedom fighters in Kashmir’, in a bid to strengthen the party. These remind us of a news item in the recent times ‘a pet parrot that spoke with a British accent when it disappeared from its home four years ago has been reunited with its owner – and the bird now speaks Spanish’. People who have disappeared from the scene and are making attempts to come back to serious politics all ‘speak Kashmir’.
Though Tibet remained an issue with China and also diplomatically with India, no politician in India ever capitalised on it or felt the need to raise this as a means to strengthen their party or make an announcement of their entry to politics. Above all the sincere efforts on the part of the present Government in India should be given more attention. Visits undertaken by the Prime Minister of India to the neighbouring countries is an indication that India being the oldest democracy wants to live in peace with all its neighbours. Moreover, can’t both the countries concentrate on other important issues such as elimination of poverty, education, development etc.? We had similar situation in India where people could be easily be persuaded with issues. Bomb blasts in Mumbai led to many riot like situations. Divisions on religious lines had led to loss of many lives and properties. Time has passed since then, now people have realised the futility of such calls for hatred by the then politicians. No point is scored or vote earned today on these lines. The factors that have contributed to creation of such an atmosphere is lacking in our neighbouring country! Wish it comes at the earliest!
(The writer is Associate Professor, Lady Keane College, Shillong)