Enough is Enough!
“Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell, . . . . And boldly venture to whatever place Farthest from pain?¶ Wrote John Milton in his masterpiece Paradise Lost (bk. IV, l. 889)
“Can 40-hectares land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board change demography of Kashmir valley?¶ It is dead sure that the Muslim religious leaders will answer in negative if this question is directed to any respected Muslim priest of any Masjid in any part of India! The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board is a state government institution like the Waquaf Trust of the Muslims and if land is transferred to facilitate the ’yatra’. It won’t impinge on the religious, social or political rights of the people of Kashmir.
This is why all the political parties in Kashmir were unanimous during the land transfer process in the assembly and it was PDP’s forest minister Qazi Afzal has signed the final order. The outrageous opposition stems from few anti-Indian religious zealots, who want Kashmir to be merged with Pakistan. Anti-India slogans were raised in the aftermath. During the confidence motion, in the heart of Indian democracy at Indian parliament, Omar Abdullah said “zameen ka mamla hai, jan de denge lekin zamin nahin denge¶ and he got praise from all circles. One cannot imagine a more bitter irony for India. Who is this Omar Abdullah to deny land? And to whom he is denying the land?? The true color of hatred for the mainland India surfaced during this land transfer issue.
In J&K thousands of acres of forest land have been diverted illegally and is being controlled by leading politicians of the state. The question arises: Why has no voice been raised against them for the illegal occupation of land and its use for commercial purpose?
Every time the Government in Delhi makes the same mistake and succumbed to the Valley pressure and obliged the demand. Petro-dollar coming from the middle-east and from US and UK are being used to promote secessionist activities in J and K. Instead of stopping the activities of foreign hand like ISI, government is taking solace with the statement that economic blockade is an ISI created myth! The government of Jammu and Kashmir coming with ads and clarifications in all leading dailies how the transport in the highway from Srinagar to Jammu is smooth and not different from the past!
It is a total failure on the part of the government not to able to contain secessionist activities. Indian flags are being removed within minutes of its hoisting by Indian government and those are replaced by Pakistani flags on the occasion of Independence Day of India. Indian government turned to be a mute spectator to this unacceptable crime just for the sake of Valley psyche. Muhammad Ali Jinah’s photographs are pasted on the roadside during the Muzaffarabad march. If these are not enough the secessionists were raising slogans like ‘mere jan teri jan Pakistan Pakistan’ and ‘mere mandi teri mandi Rawalpindi Rawalpindi’! The inability of the government is evident as it cannot protect the prestige and glory of its own national flag. There is no merit in giving free hand to the Kashmiris to insult Indian flag, irrespective of their religion. The more the government allows such activities the more the environment will vitiate.
On 1 January 1948 India decided to take the Kashmir issue to the United Nations. This was done on the advice of the governor general, Lord Mountbatten. Since Kashmir had acceded to it, India wanted the UN to help clear the northern parts from the illegal occupation of Pakistan. This was a blunder on the part of Pandit Nehru as the striking feature of the UN discussions on Kashmir was the partisanship of the British. British representative at the UN, Philip Noel-Baker, vigorously supported the Pakistani position. Nehru was shocked and bitterly regretted going to the United Nations. He told Mountbatten that ‘power politics and not ethics were ruling UN which was being completely run by the Americans, who, like the British, had made no bones of their sympathy for the Pakistan case.’
The people from Jammu were living a life of seclusion and deprivation. Always they have been pushed into the brink of poverty, unemployment and disrespect. Successive governments at the centre, despite their tall claims, done preciously little for the upliftment of the condition of Jammu people, most of whom are living as refugee in their own country. Many politicians made their fortune, political and financial, in the name of Jammu people but the very people of this region remain the same. As the government failed to meet any expectation of the Jammu people, they were forced to agitate with Indian flag in their hands. The issue was not only the land transfer case but collective grievances accumulated over the years. The only way to reach a solution in Jammu and Kashmir is through equal treatment and equal punishment to both the regions. There is no other visible alternative. Few anti-Indians in the valley must not decide the course of action of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the embodiment of religious tolerance and this must be protected at any cost.
