While we express our anger over what is happening in Gaza, do we know we are gradually losing our own Kashmir!


Mehmood-u-Rashid
These days Gaza is in news. It is in news for all the blood that has drained through its lanes; of men, women, and children. Global conscience is in a state of shock as it watches death raining down the skies of Gaza. Arab kings are busy in their indulgences. Israel is a happy hunter, deriving pleasure from victims’ plight. Powers of the time have their own ways to act or not to act. They have set standards of what to condemn and what not to. And in all this justice is a helpless watcher.

In our valley people protest on everything under the sun! It has become their perennial engagement. How could Gaza skip them?  In these protests people raised a slogan that is painfully laughable.
Ye Hamara Na’ra Hai
Falesteen Hamara Hai
(Our slogan
Palestine is ours)
Yes, we share many things with Palestine. We are both Muslims. We are both victims. We are both occupied. We are both up against powers who are ruthless, inhuman and stake a civilisational claim to our lands. But all this apart, when one hears the slogan, ‘Palestine is ours’, it sticks like a thorn. Not because Palestine is not ours but because we have been rendered helpless in our own land and we hardly bother to give thought to how Kashmir is skipping from our hands. Not to speak of ‘Palestine is ours’, we are losing Kashmir to India! While we raise slogans in favour of Palestine, we need to ask ourselves how to re-claim Kashmir. It needs aptitude, seriousness, hard work and angerless activism; and it is here that we run away from our responsibility. Too many things are happening in Kashmir that deepen our helplessness and we pay little heed to it.
King of Kingfisher and booze baron, Vijay Mallaya, came to town this week. His family shares good relations with Sheikhs of Kashmir, he says so cheerfully.  Now that the family is back to power, ‘friends’ from India view an opportunity to participate in ‘rebuilding’ Kashmir’s economy. There is no doubt that Kashmir cannot live in isolation, and it is not any ethnocentric idea that makes one chary of outsiders. The reason of torment lies in the fact that all this external ‘help’ comes at the cost of Kashmir.  The ‘generosity of giants’, like Mallay, serves a particular purpose, that falls well beyond the borders of pure business. The real dossier of profit and loss always remains away from the public eye. We know of it only when the toxin would choke our nerves. When Vijay Mallaya talked of hops plant, some feathers did ruffle. Of course the moral and ethical fabric of Kashmir’s Muslim society cannot, and must not, be ignored, but the real point was again missed. The formation of cartels across the politico-business spectrum in Kashmir is a deadly phenomenon that makes business a part of the larger scheme of rendering people helpless. Rather than doing business they wage business. Had the purpose of these associations (like Mallay-Sheikh) been to contribute to the economy of Kashmir – most welcome, but the bulls eye remains fixed to some other target.
Looking at the ways how business of valley has been made a target, consistently and with a sense of purpose. It becomes amply clear that India is never interested in an economically strong and marketwise well connected Kashmir. Remember how Chiru (Tibetan antelope) was made into a cause and Shahtos trade was grounded to death. From a prime business activity Shahtos trade became a criminal act. Although some sections did raise some voice, and of late one of the valley based business associations wanted to take the matter to the court of law at international level, but ultimately we could only watch things happen in spite of us! Poor Hatu of olden days! Just recently Kashmir was in streets protesting against the disruption of traffic on Srinagar-Jammu highway by Hindu right, purposely unleashed, guided and backed by state machinery. The traffic disruption was an effective economic blockade and a way to drop a message that we depend for our survival on India. Again our business community was hit. This time it was all open, aggressive and crude. Hurriyat Conference and even some unionist parties, like PDP, understood the political import of it and the matter filled the streets of Kashmir, overflowing to find a way through Muzaffarabad. Dozens died and hundreds received injuries. Business communities decided to boycott goods being traded from Jammu. Till the tempo was up, attempts were explored to get the supplies from other states of India, bypassing Jammu. Traders even offered more-than-required security amounts and bank guarantees to big companies and business houses, asking them to establish C&F points in Srinagar. Looking solely from business angle it was a god send opportunity for them, but none agreed to strike the deal. Politics, from all across the India, intervened explaining business houses the political import of this whole matter. Once again we ultimately watched things happen in spite of us. We were again apprised of our helplessness. Some days back we had a news story published in Rising Kashmir ( .....Jan, 2009) about the veneer units that had been established in Kashmir after 2002. Since it came in the way of veneer business of Jammu and Punjab, it was to be removed. Taking recourse to law a ban was sought. Dozens of units doing wonderful business, and providing employment to many, are now to be closed. We have made an association to fight the matter out, but if past is any indicator, we may again have to watch things happen helplessly.  All in spite of us.
Why does it happen? Why there is a systemic erosion of our capability to defend ourselves as humans? Why there is an invisible, but permanent state of siege, thrown around us that disallows us expression in even banal activities? Why we have been determined to the levels that we cannot even decide who to buy from and what to sell? Answers are no difficult to find. Occupation.
In the same line of logic and argument, we can deliberate upon the question of why our presence in the administration of State is fading off with every passing day? KAS exams have been announced. In last three KAS lists Kashmir performed miserably. In the streets we may later shout that Woh Kashmir Hamara Hai (even Falesteen Hamara Hai). We even brave bullets. But we could better contribute if our presence in administration is formidable. Let us not have any misgivings that if we outnumber others, we are going to rule ourselves, but at least it can give our enemy some tough time and delay their plans to devour us. It is a space that can be occupied without any violence or bloodshed; why not work in this direction? Why not fill the spaces. We may not do things at the cost of others, but allow others to do things at our cost.
If Kashmir has a strong presence in bureaucracy, has a robust economy, a sound academia, and a vibrant media, we can, at least, better manage our crises.
We can mitigate the pain of watching things happen helplessly.