Hunt Kill and Newborn : A vicious Circle

Hunt Kill and Newborn

(Vicious Cycle has to stop)

                                                                                                                                     Lalit K Kaul

The cycle of hunting and eliminating terrorists and simultaneous birth of new breed of terrorists has been going on for long. Influx from across the border of these gun wielding individuals indoctrinated to kill at first sight has a mix of local Kashmiri youth and Pakistan nationals. The trained mercenaries from across the border have also proven to be good motivators to draw the youth from the local population in order to increase their numbers to spread out in larger areas to carry out their mission against the State, and such of the members of the local community they think are informers. Those lured into the trap are no longer with poor and illiterate/ uneducated background alone, but belong to such cream of students who had scholarship with universities and such professionals drawing lucrative salaries from IT giants.  

While the army combined with paramilitary forces and local police have been doing (and continue to do) a remarkable job in neutralising the adversaries of the State, since decades now; collective failure of the intellectuals, historians and political leadership of our Nation has been on the front of evolving such world views (political philosophy) that would blunt such mesmerising power of the adversary that entices the youth to join the death trap with the solemn and avowed dual purpose of weakening the State and striking fear in the minds of the people to force them into subjugation.

The net result is human tragedy of unimagined proportions that cannot be summed up just by counting the heads of dead civilians including such youth as lured into the death trap. A section of the Kashmiri community has been rendered homeless to become refugees in their own country; large number of families from both the religious communities have gone into irrevocable depression; a whole generation has been wasted in that they have been kept away from being productive in terms of contributing to the wholesome growth of the people in the region; human life in the UT of J&K has become so tentative – since decades- that none is sure to return home safe in the evening, after finishing day’s work; value system degeneration has institutionalized prostitution that was nonexistent in pre 1990 era; etcetera.

How to Stem the Rot?    

The problem has to be tackled head on; there is no hiding behind the curtains because Reality has to be faced without masks.

Deliberate and conscientious efforts by the depraved mainstream and separatists leadership to distort the history of the erstwhile princely state of J&K before and after 1947 has been and continues to be the main cause for the dehumanization process all have been witness to since 1988/89. India was made out to be (the narrative till date remains same in bedroom discussions) the villain for denying the residents of J&K their right to self determination and indoctrinating youth with it started since long before Pakistan chose to become a player in it. Right from the days of Maharaja Hari Singh down to the Prime Minister Modi ji is a villain to the cause and right from Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Imran Khan is a hero/ sympathizer/benefactor/empathizer to the cause; is the narrative that generations after generations the youth in Kashmir has been fed with supported by the Moulvis to give it a religious fragrance. The cunningness of the leadership has been such that seamlessly they made a transition from the issue of J&K state to that of Kashmir valley.

Wrong sense of history can be erased only by holding open debates on the history of the region that includes 1) Instrument of Accession and its genesis, 2) Article 370 and 35 A, 3) UN Resolution, 4) Shimla Agreement, 5) the Accord of 1974 and various other accords signed between the governments of India and the erstwhile state of J&K, 6) how very long ago Article 370 had become nonexistent and 7) the need to reorganize the erstwhile state of J&K into two separate UTs.

In the proposed debates students, intellectuals and politicians should be involved and the narrative on both the sides should be based on documented historical facts because such an exercise has to be different in content from the stock of lies spread by politicians of all shades to promote their respective agendas. The question to be answered is: Who is responsible for the mess in J&K, is it India or Pakistan?

The other activity that needs to be taken up at a big scale is to open counselings camps/centers that would have Psychologists, Psychiatrists and elders from the local regions and this team would initiate counseling of youth with the aim of erasing from their minds the indoctrination done by the depraved local leadership and the agents of Pakistan.

This kind of counseling need also to be started in all the educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities, professional colleges- in the UT of J&K under some designated course work and the faculty for it should be chosen carefully so that integrity is not compromised.

The youth of the UT should be politically motivated to find alternative leadership for the depraved one everyone has endured for more than 70 years.

Kashmir is suffering because of political chicanery of the local leaders who excelled in playing the double game and the above suggested measures may help in isolating the depraved leadership.