Muslim

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Why Bengal is a ticking time-bomb, and what needs to be done

West Bengal has had for long a volatile political history. With several instances of mass-scale rebellions and violent uprisings against the administration throughout expansive swathes of time, the state has certainly enough potent to be labeled tempestuous. After a spate of gross misuse of power and unabated killings (Sainbari murders, Marichjhapi massacres, Nandigram) for a period of thirty-four years, Mamata ascended to the center-stage of West Bengal politics as the Chief Minister in 2011. Her party, the Trinamool Congress, had ridden to power through the catchphrase, ‘Maa Mati Manush’– promising people development (‘unnayan‘), and an immediate end to administrative high-handedness.

Almost eight years later, the ground reality looks immensely far-fetched from the poll planks of 2011, and murders have once again reclaimed their spot as a political weapon.

Venomous Roots

Mamata has always been a mile away from the bhadralok-zamindar politics of the state; her repute as a militant street-fighter battling for the oppressed and destitute propelled her popularity among the masses. After assuming office, it only metamorphosed into a brand of politics that encapsulated populism, outreach efforts, and loyalty-garnering initiatives. There is no denying that in terms of social ventures, Banerjee has outdone most other politicians of her era; providing opportunities for the girl child (Kanyashree), and offering artisans, craftsman, and folk singers appreciable remunerations for their services. These activities have helped generate an army of party loyalists- being the beneficiaries to the government’s social schemes, these men had a call of obligation. Her party’s base continued to grow naturally until it hit the saturation point. And that is precisely when the trouble started.

With growing support and politicisation of the bureaucracy (much like her Communist predecessors), complacency had begun to sow its seeds among the party ranks. Thus, when the base growth stalled and became evident, workers tried to brute force their way to gain the vote of those in ideological contrast to that of the TMC. Fiery leaders like Anubrata Mondal, TMC’s Birbhum district president, flaunted veiled threats as tools of intimidation. Infighting had already commenced, thus eroding away the electorate’s confidence in the ruling disposition. Brazen remarks made by several high-ranking party members (read, Tapas Pal) had left little to prove that the party functioning was completely arbitrary.

Political greed, coupled with the onset of deplorable complacency, also opened the floodgates for corruption. The Narada sting operation revealed how 11 of her ministers accepted bribes in exchange of unofficial favors for a fake consultancy firm floated by the whistleblower himself. The Saradha scam mired her repute as a leader who takes on corruption- and suicide figures for those who lost all in the ponzi scam reached double digits. Despite such brutal revelations, she miserably failed to take any definite action against the accused, and went on to harbour such men in order to extract political reaps owing to their unprecedented influence.

Appeasement Politics and Support Banks

Prior to Independence, the Muslim population in Bengal was estimated at 29.5%. Post partition, however, that figure dropped to 19.85%. However, after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and establishment of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), the percentage again ricocheted to 20.46%. When Banerjee came to don the hat as a Chief Minister, the demographics resembled a 27% share of the Muslim population, and a 70% share of the majority Hindus.

Sensing an opportunity to lap up the Muslim vote (an electorally significant 27%), the TMC supremo went all guns blazing to provide Muslims with benefits unparalleled. Her brand of appeasement politics is nowhere near subtle; her extravaganza in terms of playing the religion card is downright offensive. Calcuttans have got used to the sight of Mamata draped in a white scarf over her head offering namaz prayers during prominent Muslim festivities. The Dinajpur-Maldah-Murshidabad-Birbhum region has seen specific religion targeted efforts to win over the vote bank. However, such concerted effort towards minority appeasement has weaned off many. In 2016, Firhad Hakim, one of Mamata’s many trusted lieutenants, reportedly described Garden Reach as “mini-Pakistan”. A feature report by THG highlights how in the Falta block of South 24 Parganas, the alleged ‘monstrosity’ of TMC leader Zahangir Khan has accentuated the TMC’s rootless politics. This year, she increased the Eid bonus for all Muslim State employees to Rs. 4000, a 11% hike from last year.

Mamata has one trick up her sleeve that yields her big results: fielding celebrities! It seems to serve two objectives at once: while the stars bring along their own fan following to the advantage of the party, it also helps push party factionalism under the carpet. To take on the BJP’s Asansol candidate, Babul Supriyo, Banerjee placed yesteryear actress Moon Moon Sen as a contestant for the seat. Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty, two eminent actresses from Bengal’s film industry, also found a place amongst the 42 prospective MP candidates, contesting the elections from Basirhat and Jadavpur, respectively. Tollywood star Dev Adhikari, one of the industry’s leading figures today (how pathetic!) is also in the fray this time around, from Ghatal. While the strategy is a complete winner in the short term, applying band-aid fixes to rifts within the party ultimately produces defectors, or worse, moles.

For residents of Kolkata and its suburban areas, the anarchy of auto-wallahs is beyond grasp. The auto drivers and toto (e-rickshaw) operators have pacts with local leaders in exchange of uninterrupted ‘do-what-you-may’ regime. Cases of road rage against such people are shelved by the police; in short, their supremacy on the roads remain unchallenged under the patronage of their political masters. Hawker encroachment, also allegedly under the patronage of local leaders, has rendered the wide majority of pavements inaccessible to pedestrians, exposing them to the perils of walking on busy roads at peak hours. These pacts are nothing but purely based out of monetary and vote considerations. As police action is de-facto forbidden, they continue their reign of pandemonium unfettered- and drop the votes alongside.

Industry Aversion and Syndicate Raj

Banerjee’s breakthrough moment in Bengal’s tense political environment was when she single-handedly spearheaded a campaign to drive out the TATA Group from Singur, alleging forced encroachment of farmer’s lands by the CPI(M) government. Her relentless protest ultimately ensured that the Nano project withdrew from Singur, marking a thumping win for her against adversities. Co-incidentally, as fate would have it, a marked decline in industrialization has been the jinx in her term as the Chief Minister.

In her first stint (2011-2016), the contribution of industry in West Bengal’s GSDP shrank from 19.1% in 2012 to 18.8% in 2013. Manufacturing also witnessed a progressive decline from 56% in 2012 to 55.3% in 2013. A report by the Business Standard in 2013 also highlighted a 97% decline in industries since 2010, and an 85% fall when compared to 2011. Since then, efforts were made to salvage Bengal’s flailing economy. The Global Bengal Summit was conceptualized in 2014 and has since been instrumental in attracting investment proposals into the state. In fact, in 2019 itself, the 5th Global Bengal Summit generated investment proposals worth Rs. 2.84 trillion. However, when it comes to implementation, the statistics are no longer rosy as they were on paper: growth and industry expansion is happening at an extremely tardy pace. Bengal has also squandered the opportunity of riding the demographic dividend, i.e. to cash in on the productivity of the working age population, a report from the UNFPA suggests.

The problem is multi-pronged and poses as a conundrum to the political dispensation. If the INTTUC (the party’s trade union arm) is to be strengthened, it will help bolster party recruits and drive support for the party. However, a strong trade union would also ride roughshod over the managerial decisions, and any complications would keep further investor interest at bay. So far, the Trinamool Congress has not been able to find a viable solution to this stumbling block on the road to development.

The Kolkata flyover collapse, allegedly linked to the Syndicate providing inferior-grade materials for the construction

In cities, however, the problem assumes a radically different dynamic. Construction land, building materials, and sand are all controlled by a group of people who remain politically affiliated to the ruling party- termed as syndicates. Extortionism is common, and any buyer who seeks legitimate means of transactions would be compelled to ‘give in, or give up’. Often, these syndicates provide an inferior quality of construction materials at a higher price, widening their pockets with profits. This has inadvertent effects. Repair work done by the State’s Public Works Department turns out to be temporary and inadequate. In 2016, a flyover collapsed over Girish Park- a crowded locality in Kolkata, with later inspections revealing the supply of inferior-grade materials as one of the chief reasons for structural instability.

Rise of the Right Wing

Amidst an atmosphere of uncertainty, the biggest gainer has undoubtedly been the Bharatiya Janata Party. Drawing from its proven formula of polarisation of voters along religious lines, the party primarily projected itself as a binary alternative to Mamata’s Muslim-first policies. It had all the positives in the world to begin its journey with:

  • The party effectively relied on Modi’s mass appeal, particularly among the youth of the state- promising ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas‘ (inclusive development for all).
  • The Left, which was completely routed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had its entire vote base transferred to the BJP, and,
  • The theme of national security and an unprecedented influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into Bengal were repeatedly underscored to rake up jingoistic sentiments.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had no significance in Bengal’s poll map, has made a surprising wildcard entry to play an integral role in the complex workings of the State’s politics. It will be interesting to observe how the right-wing, which focuses on the base of Hindutva, fares in a state where Muslims form a significant chunk of the population. Furthermore, the electorate expects the BJP to make the paradigm shift and ensure policy changes, to facilitate rapid industrialization of the state. While Modi’s Gujarat model is easy to sell as an ideal model, Bengal is not Gujarat: the state arm of the BJP will face tough challenges in its quest for acche din.

The Way Forward

Bengal’s explosive mix of greedy politics, minority appeasement and populism is certainly a disaster waiting to happen. Political violence is on the consistent rise. The Panchayat polls in 2018 were one of the bloodiest in Bengal’s history, with 25 people being slain as part of political rivalry. Post-poll violence after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is so bad that an imposition of President’s Rule is being pondered over as an option to tackle the absolute lawlessness that Bengal is reeling from today.

The fantastic irony lies in the fact that a leader who comes from a background of fighting against heavy-handed establishments, has herself succumbed to the vagaries of electoral rapacity! Under Mamata’s regime, ‘red fascism’ of the Left has merely been replaced by secular fascism, and the Trinamool Congress is essentially old wine served in a new bottle.

To begin with, Mamata must have a hard look at her own policies- often crafted with vested interests- and alter them at the earliest. Second, she must look to fill bureaucracy with competent officers, and not puppets: it will ensure that she gets sound advice on critical issues pertaining to efficient governance. Third, she must reign in lumpen elements operating from within the party, as a party with leaders who are mutually out of sync damages both the party as well as good governance. Fourth, she must make a dedicated effort to stop the syndicate raj and illegal sand mining that rot the State machinery, as her silence only fuels such activities. While her party stands to lose significant amounts of donation amounts coming from such illegal syndicates, she would be free of the moral guilt, and more importantly, the taint of giving a free hand to such elements. Fifth, and most importantly, it is time that she introspects the demographic damage that minority appeasement is doing to West Bengal’s cultural lineage. State security, as well as an irreparable cultural heritage, should never be toyed with in a bid to polish vote banks.

At this hour of desperation, Mamata needs not only an image makeover but also an administrative rejig, to make things work for the TMC. I can only keep fingers crossed, and hope that sense prevails soon. It would be apt to recall Ellen Glasgow, the famed American novelist, who had prognosticated that “… all change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” If only the Trinamool Congress could draw some lessons.



Reflections on the Rohingya Crisis

A boat with Rohingya migrants.

A boat with Rohingya migrants.

When we were born, we were automatically granted Indian citizenship by the principle of jus sanguinis, as is derived from Act 57 of the Constitution of India. The issue of citizenship is so quotidian to us that we hardly think of it. Being an Indian citizen entitles us to a lot of privileges and rights, apart from State duties (that we fail to observe, mostly). But for the time being, let us keep that out of our scope here. Imagine being denied citizenship status by the State where you breathed your first, imagine being shunned by local ethnic communities and sects, imagine being rejected by neighbouring South Asian nations, imagine being homeless in the post-modern twenty-first-century world: and you call yourself a Rohingya.

The Rohingyas are essentially people of Indo-Aryan descent who are denied recognition under the Myanmar Nationality Law. Mostly concentrated in the North Western Province of Rakhine, the Rohingya population has always faced systematic discrimination at the hands of the government and the Burmese people at large, over the decades. However, to fully comprehend the real nature behind their statelessness, a look at the history pages is indispensable.

British Colonialism and Post-Independence Politics

The British began their conquest in Burma as early as 1824, starting with a series of conflicts and wars against the established. As was the practice in India, Colonial interests encouraged migrant labour in order to increase rice cultivation and profits. As part of requirements and policies, many Rohingya entered Burma during this phase of the seventeenth century. Between 1871 and 1911, the Muslim population tripled, as per available statistics from the Census Records. The British also promised the Rohingya separate land – a “Muslim National Area” – in exchange for support. During the Second World War, the Rohingyas supported the British, while the nationalists sided with the Japanese intruders. Customary to tradition, the Rohingyas were rewarded well with prestigious governmental posts. However, the promise of a free state was denied to them.

Right after independence in 1948, the Rohingya population started clamouring for the autonomous province they were promised, but officials rarely showed interest. Branding them foreigners, they were denied citizenship- and thus started the decades-long denial and oppression of the Rohingyas in present-day Myanmar. Other groups and nationalists had only hatred and contempt for the Rohingyas as the latter had enjoyed the patronage of the outgoing colonialists. Such built-up anger only contributed to growing fiery sentiments that were evidently anti-Rohingya. In 1950, some Rohingyas staged a protest against the government, demanding rights of citizenship and recognition, apart from their promised land- the Muslim National Area. The Army took over and in essence crushed all opposition from the Rohingyas- thus, silencing them for the upcoming decades. In 1977, when the Army launched a drive to register citizens, the Rohingyas were deemed as illegal immigrants.

Present Day Crisis and Mass Exodus

The first series of violence against Rohingyas were noted in early 2012. The immediate trigger was the gang rape and killing of a Burmese woman by some Rohingyas, as well as killing of ten Burmese women by the Rakhines. Since then, riots and bloodbath have become common sights, the ground zero being volatile for most of the time. Countless number of pictures have shown how Rohingya villages were burnt and their property being destroyed. At present count, more than 500,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmarese territory into safe lands- primarily Bangladesh, which has taken in approximately 480,000 refugees until August 2017. This figure shows only the refugee input in the latest series of clashes. Coupled with earlier numbers, Bangladesh is brimming with Rohingya population, struggling to balance its economy and handicapped by humanitarian concerns- it harbours 700,000 plus refugees by a rough estimate.

A Rohingya makeshift camp in Bangladesh.

A Rohingya makeshift camp in Bangladesh. (Credits: The Guardian)

When the present crisis exploded beyond proportions, all major news outlets carried photos reminiscent of the Syrian migrant crisis that plagued the world last year. It is probably imbued in the governmental system to not take notice of and/or apprehend crises in the foreseeable future. It was clear that the Myanmarese Army had intentions poles apart from what the civilised world would expect, yet no one bothered to engage diplomatic measures to take stock of the growing tensions. When the riots finally began, so did the exodus, and it remains a terrible sight till day- people of all ages cramped in a boat, huddling for an uncertain future amidst the roaring waves of fate. For the Rohingyas, the blue sky isn’t blue anymore- it must have assumed a greyish character beyond compare.

In Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees opened up to International Human Rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) that the army had beheaded men, raped their women, carried out armed attacks and facilitated a state of ‘controllable chaos’- if I can put it that way. When the United Nations defined the Rohingyas as the most persecuted ethnic group in the world, they were right- being butchered in their own soil and having an identity crisis in the foreign lands. In May 2017, the Myanmar Army rejected and vehemently denied allegations of human rights abuses in the Rakhine state during a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. On paper, the crackdown was initiated so as to ensure that Rohingya insurgents who attacked border guard posts were flushed. In practice, and this is my firm conviction, the Army wanted to cleanse the region of the taint of a single Rohingya Muslim.

How India Gets Involved

As already discussed, Bangladesh is beyond the point of recovery: the refugee influx being so heavy that it is an actual threat to the Bangladeshi economy. As such, it is inevitable that the Government of Bangladesh, under Sheikh Hasina, will take steps to send back a significant chunk of refugees. Such a drastic step will meet with ramifications that can, and will, affect the Indian Union. Pushing refugees out of Bangladesh compulsively would only result in the refugees trying to enter India. It is a known fact that at several points, due to geographical and contour inaccessibility, the borders remain open and porous. At present count, India is already hosting forty thousand (40,000) Rohingya refugees. The Central Government has taken a stand to figuratively deny each of the registered Rohingya refugees dwelling in India any further leniency. In an affidavit submitted before the apex court, the Government said that it had sufficient inputs from Intelligence Agencies to ascertain that there were security threats among the Rohingya population in India. Many of such threats were spread across metropolitans.

As a regional power, it is only fair to expect New Delhi to shoulder its quota of responsibility, which it has done in a lot many ways. It has agreed to provide sufficient remuneration and aid to Bangladesh which would then forward it on to the refugee camps. Moreover, it has also upped the ante against Myanmar on diplomatic levels to immediately stop further persecution (although it has had little effect). However, to say that hosting refugees would be the ultimate test of governmental morality is a myth in itself and to be crude, utter rubbish.

On further research, Politics Now has found concrete evidence that the premier Pakistani Intelligence agency, the ISI- is involved in training and recruiting young Rohingyas and subsequently radicalising them with anti-India propaganda apart from the jihadi doctrines. In 2012, two terrorists (Noor-ul-Amin and Ali Ahmed aka Abu Jibral) were arrested in Bangladesh, who confirmed ISI’s support in training and financial assistance to Rohingyas. Furthermore, Indian and Bangladeshi intelligence intercepted three long duration calls between Hafiz Tohar, leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Inter-Services Agency (ISI)- before ARSA attacked the Myanmar army posts at the border. Currently, twenty percent of the Rohingya population is concentrated in Jammu. Any further shift could escalate dramatic tensions and give rise to sectarian confrontations in the already volatile state. As such, it is understandable that the government wants to take a no-risk policy: a direct deportation would end any chance of a further headache in the future.

The Way Forward

The Rohingya crisis is a perfect example of an ethnic cleansing, a humanitarian crisis that has spiralled beyond all presumptions and has evolved into a mess that cannot be downplayed at any platform. Keeping terse South Asian geopolitics in mind is essential in order to carve out a possible solution, but then again this cannot be implemented without wholehearted acceptance of the masses.

  • (a)  Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion: State restrictions on practising religion can turn to violent extremism after a point. An initiative to promote freedom of religion and free practice of it, therefore, can lead to an equitable situation which has the potential to restore normalcy. This should be a policy priority as the status quo otherwise threatens global security. All the more, enhanced religious freedom would also help to contain or minimize the spread of violent extremism, and in some cases, radical ideology. The President, including high dignitaries like the State Councillor, should take the lead in promoting the concept of religious tolerance and non-discrimination of the Rohingya sect.
  • (b) Granting citizenship status to the Rohingyas: A permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis would be to grant citizenship rights to Rohingyas. Decades of injustice can hence be reversed with a single master move. While promotion of free practice of religion would be a most welcome initiative, it is temporal in nature. The Rohingyas should be integrated into the society with full and equal access to basic, fundamental rights that include education, safety, property, and employment, among others.

Thus, if Myanmar can adopt such progressive moves at the earliest, it would only help facilitate a bright future for itself. The Government, along with the Army control, must understand that facilitating a smooth transition to democracy instead of a roller-coaster ride to a state of partial democracy is of utmost importance. Transition to democracy must be smooth,  or otherwise armed transitions can destabilize the entire region. And as Desmond Tutu, the famous anti-Apartheid activist recently observed in the context of Myanmar,

“You don’t have to contend with sanctions, you don’t have to spend resources keeping people under lock and key, you can participate in international business and sport, you can attract tourists. And the most important thing … is that this is a moral universe. Right and wrong matter.”

Thorn in the Rose: Tackling the Kashmiri Crisis

A young student involves in stone-pelting activities (REUTERS File photo)

Kashmir has for long been the prickly point of Indo-Pakistani relations. Both parties want the heavenly paradise of Kashmir; this has been the contentious issue for decades. Situations have only volleyed towards the worse- tumultuous relations and widening cracks being projected on the upfront by separatist activities. What is more concerning is the fact that Islami propaganda that features the demand of an Azad Kashmir is gaining momentum; it has clearly secured vital traction with the youth masses. This is a perennial conflict, and no amount of international intervention can resolve the matter, at least for the next few decades to come.

Welcome to Kashmir 2.0, the Land of Revolution and Violence.

On July 8th, 2016, the “Che Guevara” of the Kashmir revolution- Burhan Wani- was shot dead by the Indian Armed Forces. Within minutes, social media was abuzz with the news of his death, spreading like wildfire in a forest of dry leaves. The youth of Kashmir seemed to overflow with emotions of contempt over such an action by the forces, and separatist parties called for an unparalleled showdown in the Valley. And since then, the revolution has taken a course of its own: Over the last couple of years, a lot has been said on the national media about Kashmir and its multifarious flaws. The mess is a precarious mix of frustration, coupled with a loss of identity and dishonour of the Kashmiri pride. The more one tries to play the escapist card, the deeper they fall in the trenches of an ever-broadening political conundrum.

As the April 2017 elections approached, separatist organisations, including the umbrella organisation, the All Party Hurriyat Conference, called for a unilateral boycott. This was nothing new, and on previous occasions, most Kashmiris ignored the instructions and turned out to the polls in substantial numbers. This time, however, even the capital city, Srinagar, saw a precipitous decline in voter turnout. A mere 7.14 percent of the eligible electorate turned up to the polls during the first week of April—the worst showing in three decades. Violence was so widespread in the other constituency, Anantnag, that one of the candidates asked the election commission to postpone the election until late May, which it did. As a part of the research work that precedes any article, I came across a quote from an IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt:

Why is there such a furore, such an uprising? Why are the Kashmiri people incensed, and why are pseudo-nationalists digging so deep into matters they have only a superficial idea of? Is Kashmir a lost case, or is Kashmir the paradise that always belonged to India? While answers to all the questions are relative (as is everything in the world of political science), they are all inter-linked. The root of the conflict between the Kashmiri insurgents and the Indian Government is tied to a dispute over local autonomy. Politics Now will break down the labyrinthine situation in Kashmir for you to digest and understand.

Armed Forces and Human Rights

Protests that erupt periodically in Kashmir have often overwhelmed Indian police for decades. So much so, that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)- a special unit designed to undertake counterterrorism operations- has to be involved in law enforcement duties. The involvement of the CRPF marks a definite failure of the Jammu and Kashmir Police to maintain adept law and order in the State, and more importantly, reflects a lack of will on part of the State leadership to provide necessary training to bring the State cadre to a bare minimum level of institutional credibility. The CRPF is known for using crowd-control methods that are at best controversial, including pepper sprays, pellet guns, and even live ammunition.

International human rights groups have condemned such ruthless use of brute force on ordinary civilians on the mere basis of suspicion. Concrete evidence is not required in the valley to sanction the use of such force; ground situations vary and the magnitude of repressive measure deployed depends on the decision made there. These unorthodox weapons of crowd-control have caused serious injuries and have deprived hundreds of proper vision. Moreover, manufacturing standards themselves state that accuracy in such guns cannot be cent per cent: in all, such blatant statements clearly give us an imprint of the number of casualties caused due to such misfired ammunition. Several litigations were filed in the State High Court to review the use of such non-powder ballistic guns. In a landmark ruling in mid-September, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court denied an explicit ban on the use of pellet guns, but made it clear that it must be employed only in “rarest of rare cases”. The trouble is, “rarest of rare” in Constitutional terms is ambiguous.

Many Kashmiri men have endured routine harassment, been subjected to degrading interrogation, and been detained without trial for indefinite periods of time – Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs

Such incidents as stray bullets killing civilians are bound to have chain reaction effects. The ramifications are perilous: families of victims would perceive the death of civilians as an attempt by the Government to suppress their voices of dissent. Perhaps, they too wish and dream of a Kashmir wherein the State is just another part of the country. Perhaps, they too wish to serve in Government offices. Perhaps, they too have academic ambitions as high as any other societal cream would. However, their aspirations are crushed by the reality of the gory present- and hence the cycle of depression, destruction and death continues.

The Pakistani Factor

Islamabad’s glee is evidently visible as the violence in mainstream Kashmir worsens. Pakistan has always viewed Kashmir as a land to be annexed. Right after partition, it had sent in Pashtun tribesmen from the North-Western Frontier Provinces (NWFP) to destabilise the State under the then Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh. The last public attempt at annexing Kashmir was made back in late 1998. The Inter-Services Intelligence Agency was covertly training insurgent groups to infiltrate the LOC and cross over to Indian-Occupied Kashmir. As reports followed, Pakistan denied any involvement, but subsequent confirmations from operating chiefs and substantial evidence found from operatives captured alive showed direct involvement of the Pakistani establishment. On international pressure from diplomatic circles, Pakistan finally had to withdraw in mid-1999, and with that, the Kargil War was declared over.

However, the taste of humiliation has not gone down well enough for Pakistan- and it is burning to take revenge on its border rival, India. The problem with Pakistan is that it maintains an observable reluctance in prosecuting terrorists operating from its own soil. Of course, in politics, the word “terrorist” has no meaning- Masood Azhar to Pakistan is a hero, while in India we castigate and lambaste the person as a perpetrator of consequential attacks. Pakistan seeks Kashmir for more reasons than religious demographics- the control of water resources is a powerful option that it would like to keep in its hands.

Such covert support in fanning extremist propaganda to the other side of the border seems to be working well for Pakistan. Kashmir, already boiling with the domestic turmoil due to perceived oppression from the Armed Forces, has received a catalyst in the form of separatist leaders who have no other agenda but to spread their own prejudiced ideas. Let us all take a moment and speak the language the common man speaks: If all they want is azadi, why on earth are they staying here? A close look at the resume of the sons and daughters of these reveals the narrow-mindedness of their goal. Their families stay in safe havens across the globe. Hypocrisy gets a brand new definition when these people incite incensed Kashmiris to take up the gun against the State.

Hands tied up

The Kashmir dispute is nothing new, it has existed since the dawn of independence. As such, drastic actions cannot be quickly contemplated and enforced due to a stringent set of guidelines that govern the functioning of the State machinery in Jammu and Kashmir.

Upon independence, princely states within the Dominion of India had to voice their assent to be integrated into the Indian Union. To be a part of the Indian Union, the precondition was that the Indian Constitution had to adopted in the State over the Constitution of the Princely State. If Kashmir was yet another princely state in India, why did the Government enact the Article 370, which provided the State with incredulous amounts of autonomy? The answer lies in the history textbooks: On ascension to the Indian Union, Jammu and Kashmir refused to enact the Constitution of India. Such an obstinate move left New Delhi manoeuvring new tactics to keep the State integrated. Dr BR Ambedkar, the principal drafter of the Indian Constitution, had outrightly rejected such an attempt to assign Jammu and Kashmir a special status. However, the task was taken up by Gopalaswami Ayyangar, on the insistence of Nehru. It was meant to be a temporal measure, an act which would help facilitate the smooth transfer of the State from an autocracy to a democracy under New Delhi’s control.

Article 370, coupled with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that has for long been enforced in the State, make a draconian duo. While Article 370 restricts the Parliament from altering demographical characteristics and redrawing of border lines, AFSPA permits the army to have a free run in the State. The army can search and arrest any person without issuing a warrant and can open fire without major consequences. This deadly combination of repressive acts have for long been the source of discontentment in the State circles. However, the political brass defers any reference made and/or call to abdicate AFSPA from Kashmir, since it is a delicate issue and the Army would best know how to deal with it (or so do they believe).

The Way Forward

After the heinous Pulwama attack recently on a convoy of the CRPF that left 40  of its jawans dead, the entire nation has united in mourn and grief for the aggrieved families. Contributions have poured in from every level of the society. But the problem is long from solved: While the Army has successfully eliminated the top brass of the JeM from the State, a lot many militants will expectedly spring up soon. How do we deal with the militancy problem?

At present, the ground reality looks grim. I doubt how far such a strategy of repression might work out. The government has been staunch on its stand to use brute force in case of any objection to using of any of the aforementioned methods of combating terrorism by cross-border elements.  The third world countries in the postmodern world cannot afford any such dramatic climax that leads to a standoff between two nuclear-capable countries. Before writing the article, I went through a treacherous number of videos posted by Kashmiri militants, in order to gauge the perspectives on both sides. The fact remains thus that the militants have increased, which is in keeping with the proportion of sentiments of avenging deaths of close ones. As an independent researcher, I have found facts contrary to what the national media airs: the police force has also crossed limits on a good number of occasions. Disappointment and public exasperation due to such instances of the police mercilessly beating up innocent civilians have also contributed largely to the spark in violence.

The government must, therefore, devise a different strategy. The primary step to advancement is to outlaw the Hurriyat. Till date, every government has tolerated the Hurriyat so as to show that India values the fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and speech. However, these nefarious agents are the ones who are involved in anti-India activities. In one of my previous articles on illusory nationalism, I had regretted the fact that the volley of sedition cases being slapped indiscriminately was hardly justifiable- if calling for pelting stones at the Army to stop the government is not sedition, I do not know what the government considers as sedition. The Kashmir Valley is reeling from a brutal onslaught of terrorism and suspension of democratic logistics. Curfews have curbed all freedoms, and every person of Kashmiri origin has been compelled to shame and suspicion. The State also has to ensure that educational institutions are not affected as a part of Valley shutdowns- because closing the gates of such institutions would only exacerbate the situation for the worse. A week before the article was written, schools had shut down due to fear of clashes between the police and the civilians. Such acts would create doubts in the minds of children who would question the intentions of the State and would feel insecure being a part of India. Thus, places of educational interest must be kept open under any circumstances, a fact that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has repeatedly argued for. Also, although difficult, constant efforts must be made to provide reasonable employment opportunities- a Directive Principle of the State policy- to all citizens residing within its territorial lines. Employment would reduce the problem of militancy as it would cut off active support bases from being harnessed again for illicit purposes.

I keep my fingers crossed in the hope that one day, high-running tensions of today would return to the normalcy of yore. Some day, Kashmir would be trouble-free, a heaven for tourists, an asset for India. Some day, when Kashmiris would no longer be discriminated upon and Kashmiri arts such as carpets and blankets would flourish again. I keep my fingers crossed, to realise Amir Khusrau’s words again, someday:

Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.

(If there is a paradise on earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this)

The Victimization of Muslims

One of the most puerile and nascent ways to inspect terrorist attacks is to place the absolute liability of the attack on the entirety of the Mohammedan populace that exists in the community. This worrying trend is now a reality and serves as a brilliant example of religion-based prejudices that still exist in the contemporary society. Ever since the onset of the second millennium, the world has witnessed a host of terror attacks. These attacks have not only annihilated thousands but also have decimated rationality with every dreadful blow.

It is perfectly natural to react outrageously to such strikes. The public perception is an important yardstick to gauge the severity of the attack, and the consequent penalty imposable. The 26/11 attacks were despicable, condemnable, and reviled by all human beings that live in this world. I, too, am a part of this bandwagon: and I will stand up against all forms of terrorism in the future. However, it is equally indispensable to note that popular opinion often bears appreciable resemblances to fickle-mindedness, subject to change with changing whims.

Terrorism is definitely not a post-modern concept, it existed for ages before that. It would also be wrong to categorize terrorism as a war between the Muslim and the Christian ideologue. A Jewish terrorist organization, Sicarii, was established in the first century AD to combat the Romans in the Middle East. This only iterates how terrorism is not a present-day dictionary term. Post the Second World War, terrorism started to be linked with violence to advance political demands. From the seventies, most of the uprisings and revolutions took place in the African landscape, dominated by theological states adopting Islam as its guiding light. Revolutions are chaotic and usher in instability more than anything else; and consequently gives birth to a plethora of other tangible problems. This, unfortunately, is how we know terrorism today: the bloodied face of Muslim fidayeen who devote their lives to a false promise of acceptance into heaven, a stable future, and a good remuneration.

As per the statistics revealed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes against the Muslims have risen 67% from 154 in 2014 to 257 in 2015 in the United States alone. In the United Kingdom, activist group Tell MAMA reports that religion-based bias against the Muslims witnessed a surge capped at 326% over the course of just one year. It prognosticates ghastly situations after Britain formally declares a clause to exit from the European Union. If we are to look into the domestic situation, tensions are at an all-time high: a string of lynching and cow-vigilantism activities took its due toll on the fragile communal joints in India.

All of these hate crimes can effectively be summed up in one word: Islamophobia. While going through a CNN report during my research work, I found a line that appealed to me: and I shall not refrain myself from sharing it with you all. Daniel Burke, the regional editor of CNN, says:

Muslims live in fear that they will be attacked. Americans live in fear that Muslims will attack them.

How apt is the above line! Islamophobia is for real, and it breathes its life in every corner of the society. As a devout follower of any other religion, one may be inclined to shrug off these concerns. But taking that route would deem one similar to an escapist who eludes the reality. What if we were the innocent Muslims, and at the receiving end of unwarranted brickbats from the entire community? What if our children were dragged out of our homes and abused in front of us, and we were to watch helplessly? What if our wives and sisters were molested in the name of religious prejudice? What if our family members are murdered and all we could do is to watch these fleeting events in cold blood? That would be completely unacceptable, a direct contradiction and a gross violation of our fundamental human rights guaranteed not only by the State but also ratified by the United Nations Charter of Fundamental Rights.

FBI Statistics on Hate Crimes in the United States (2015).

If we cannot internally accept even the remotest thought of such attempts to demean us at an individual level, why do we reciprocate inherently such violent actions towards a minority group? As an enthusiast for all things Afghani, I consider myself fortunate to get hold of a book named “A Fort of Nine Towers“. This book is a revelation of the raw reality that exists: ordinary citizens like you and me trapped in the deluge of war. Incomprehensible, and often tough to believe, the actuality is strikingly difficult to acknowledge. Should it not be that these people be given a fair opportunity to prove themselves, instead of being judgemental and labeling the entire band of these people as traitors?

While the initial fury is justifiable by the tenets of human psychology, continued discriminatory actions are definitely not. As that apt remark by Burke explains, both parties involved in this strenuous relationship are at daggers drawn, which essentially means that fear prevails and there are no winners involved. As the economists forecast, the US and European states would move into a period where they lack sufficient youth population to sustain their behemoth economies. Most of these men and women, of whom many may be immigrants, are resourceful and best of all, in their prime. This would not only provide them employment opportunities, but all of them would act as individual catalysts to propel the res publica forward.

It is in peace that we find prosperity. It is my most humble appeal to my dear readers, to discard the religious card you may have. Think of the infantile children who undergo such a lot of awful hardships. Are these innocent Muslims, whoever they be, not a product of the Lord? I do not care whether I end up taking a note that may brand me as yet another “anti-national” in the eyes of a few jingoistic parties: for I believe these pertinent concerns must be addressed immediately.

As Tagore would plausibly quote,

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls…
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.