This is the time that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should visit the valley and assure the masses about the concrete actions he would take to bring back the prosperity in the state. People need jobs and fruitful avocations not bullets.
AN ARTICLE by Neetu Banga in Merinews about Kashmir made a sensible reading. I have commented in a newspaper earlier that the land, which has produced glittering jewels like Shah Faisal, who topped the IAS exam this year is not a paradise of fools.
The youth of Kashmir are all well informed and connected thorough Internet, TV., news magazines and Radio has put them at par on information highway as any traveller on this planet. They know that Kashmir is a land-locked entity which would need the routes of other states to access the fast closing world.
They know that PoK is a classic example of backwardness, poverty and mismanagement. They know that India is an emerging economic power which would lead the world in 21st century and beyond. They know that you don’t cut the branch you are going to sit.
So, why are they throwing the stones ???
Let me be blunt to an extent of hurting the sensitivities of a lot of vested interests.
Abdullahs have never been the part of a solution but have always been a part of the problem instead. This clan is responsible for most of the troubles of present day Kashmir. The grandfather of Omar, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, was a friend of Pandit Nehru and Sheikh betrayed his trust.
Sheikh wanted his cake and have it too. He was incarcerated for a long time to protect Kashmir from his vagaries. He was a refined man when he came out. However, it was too late and he could do nothing to extricate Kashmir from the quagmire it has slipped owing to his vagaries.
Farooq is known as a man with a taste for all good things in life. He looks at politics through the rosy mist and facing the realities has not been his favorite pastime. Whenever, the going is tough, he disappears and comes back to open his shop in fair weather.
Omar Abdullah was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Like father like son. He is a good speaker – a man with a lot of words but no action. He came to the chair with a lot of promise which petered out soon. He is too inexperienced and has an imperious attitude, which makes it difficult for the people to come at the same wave-length. In short, he is a wrong man, in a wrong place at a wrong time. The sooner he fades into political oblivion, the better it would be for the state and the country.
Kashmir is a smoldering pot of poverty and backwardness. There is no industry worth-mentioning except tourism and there is no progress. The bleak economic atmosphere has given the separatists a ready audience on the platter.
Kashmiris read of the success stories of emerging economic power house – India and they compare it with their plight. They see no light at the end of the tunnel. Human right violations are the realities of every day life. Nowhere in the world projectiles of small flints are answered by fusillade of indiscriminate bullets. Why there is an over-reaction by security forces ??? Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons are used all over the world to challenge similar crowds. !
This current phase of violence began with the death of Tofail Mattoo, a 17 year young boy, who was killed by a tear gas canister which struck his head during a protest in Srinagar on April 30. It was revealed that he died as a direct result of Machhil.
How come soldiers got that temerity and courage to commit such heinous crime. There is a proverb – Mama bhaye kotwal to dar kahe ka ?” When the uncle is Police officer, what is there to fear ?
The real reason behind these acts of brazen human rights violation is that they know that they would get away with it.
The second reason is the flawed intelligence system that covers the valley. They always try to sell the old theory that protests are solely the handiwork of agents provocateurs. Lashkar, ISI, this and that, you name it they have it on their list.
Few weeks back, our well informed Home Minister informed that the protests are confined to Srinagar and few abutting municipalities. Even a child who watches the T.V. would learn the veracity of the truth. What are we going to get with this ostrich kind of attitude ?
This is the time that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should visit the valley and assure the masses about the concrete actions he would take to bring back the prosperity in the state. People need jobs and fruitful avocations not bullets.
