Diversity is a blessing for any civilisation but it has become a curse for Kashmir. At present, Kashmir is oscillating between different ideologies coming from different sources. The key point to be noted here is that those who should have come forward and blessed Kashmir with their thoughts have kept themselves busy in other talks. These other talks may be beneficial to Kashmir to some extent, but they fail to address the present political situation in Kashmir.
Hurriyat, in my opinion, has been defamed by a considerable margin by the new hardcore face of Kashmir resistance – Zakir Musa. Musa seems to want to establish a caliphate in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This goes against Hurriyat’s position which sees the Kashmiri movement as a struggle for the right to self-determination.
Meanwhile, organisations like Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba have a much more pro-Pakistan stance. There are some who still possess a soft corner for India, while some call for a separate state of Kashmir. In the midst of all this, the common person seems confused and frustrated. No corner of Kashmir is left for them to hide. It seems like Kashmir is on the verge of another flood – this time one of ideologies. The result is only the suffering of the common man.
There is also a group of people protesting in a different manner, regardless of the protest calendars given by Hurriyat. They are also not on-board with the idea of an Islamic caliphate or an Islamic state being established in Kashmire. Moreover, they want their right to freedom. They do not want to be imprisoned by the shackles of another ideology.
But even the forces who claim to be the army of the Islamic State have had a certain amount of mass effect.
As I see it, the big problem whirling around us is choosing the right ideology which could bear us the fruits of freedom. People seem to be tired of the old approach of shutting down for months; they rather want to give a modern touch to the resistance movement of Kashmir, which has been missing seen so far.
The youth of today, who will go on to become the leaders of tomorrow, are hardly attracted by the dogmatic policies which we have been seeing for decades. Such policies haven’t led us anywhere; they have failed terribly in bringing about change.
The only thing we see changing is the number of graves – they keep on increasing. Even after sowing the seeds of freedom, we are unable to witness the seeds sprout and transform into a plant. Why is it so? Well, I feel that the big reason behind all this is that we have been blindly following the supposed leaders of our resistance without keeping a check upon their policies. We still follow them, even if their policies, at times, go against our best interests.
The crude reality is that each and every person of Kashmir is responsible for our present situation; none of us really stood up against the vague policies of the resistance leadership. The different ideologies we see around us are merely a result of the failure of the separatist leadership.
It is the need of the hour to stand and question them. Nobody can really stop us from questioning our leadership as people have invested their trust and lives in them. Just like the right to freedom, questioning our leadership is also our birth right. We need to stand for the sake of our Kashmir, as nobody is going to do that for us.
There is an urgent need to critically analyse everything that comes from Hurriyat, or any other group. We need to actively decide what really is good for us, rather getting kicked around like a football from different sides. By doing this, the future generations will not mock us for not analysing the political situation of our valley critically.
There is an immediate need to freshly meditate upon the situation in Kashmir so that a peaceful and permanent resolution can be derived.