Kashmiri confessional

Pakistan tried again to capture Kashmir in 1965. It was a Kashmiri shepherd who told the Indian army about the infiltration of Pakistani troops. There was no uprising in the Valley as the then foreign minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had predicted. General Ayub Khan, then ruler of Pakistan, had tried to dissuade Bhutto from banking on the Kashmiris.

We in India did not introspect why the same Kashmiris took to arms in 1989. By any estimate, at least 30,000 of them must have given their lives. Why were they driven to the wall? The rigged state election in 1987 was the last straw. It made the Kashmiris forsake all hopes of ruling themselves democratically. Many young Kashmiris went to Pakistan for training and weapons. As the late Abdul Ghani Lone told me in January 1990, New Delhi shattered the boys8217; faith in the ballot box and forced them to cross the border to bring bullets.

But it was not one election which created the situation. It was the cumulative effect of bogus polls held since the state8217;s integration with India. The 1987 polls only provided the spark. The hay had been piling up for years. The non-performance of successive governments had not spanned the yawning distance between New Delhi and Srinagar. India was blamed for the failure of rulers in Kashmir. Indeed, New Delhi would select a chief minister and see to it that he had a majority in the legislature. Whether it was Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, Mir Qasim or his successors, all were New Delhi8217;s nominees. They were beholden to the Centre, not to the people of the state. The spread of discontent was understandable.

The only fair election in Kashmir was in 1977 when the Sheikh swept the polls. But he had realised by then 8212; he had been detained at Kodaikanal for 12 years 8212; that if he wanted to rule the state, he would have to remain within the limits indicated by New Delhi. He probably believed he could still retrieve the state. He could not.

Today even his grave at Srinagar has to be protected by the armed forces because most Kashmiris blame him for their ills. He tried his best. When his friend Jawaharlal Nehru ordered his detention in 1952, the Sheikh realised that he could not wield the quantum of autonomy guaranteed to the state at the time of its accession to India.

The instrument of accession gave New Delhi three subjects: defence, foreign affairs and communications. Yet New Delhi went on making inroads into other fields. The undertaking given was that no Indian legislation except that relating to the three subjects would be extended to Kashmir without its legislature8217;s consent. This remained largely on paper. Even Article 370, giving special status to the state, has been threatened because the ruling BJP has the repeal of the statute on its agenda. All this has contributed to the alienation of Kashmiris. They feel let down. Since they have not enjoyed the quantum of democracy or the administration that other states in India have, their faith in New Delhi is lacking. Can the restoration of autonomy, which the Kashmris enjoyed at the time of accession, bring back the confidence?

Still, the bigger question is whether the Kashmiris can be won back because there is practically no family in the Valley which has not suffered at the hands of the security forces. There have been untold violations of human rights and there is a long list of missing youth. A boy in Kupwara was cut into pieces last month.

The 8220;healing touch8221; which the present chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is underlining cannot come only by providing jobs or by opening some avenues of development. They are all right as far as they go. Kashmiris want their detained people to be released. They want the perpetrators of excesses to be punished. And above all, they want their status to be redefined.

They perhaps realise their mistakes. They should not have permitted foreigners coming through Pakistan to hijack their movement; they should not have let the exodus of Kashmiri pandits to take place; they should not have left the field open to terrorists from across the border to kill and devastate; and they should not have allowed communalisation of the pluralistic Kashmiriyat.

Some mistakes can be rectified. Some may get more tangled as time passes. But in the case of the Hurriyat it may be too late. It cared little for Jammu and Ladakh and it confined itself to the Valley. it gave too much space to fundamentalist forces. No doubt New Delhi is to blame for most of what has happened in the state. But this is no time for apportioning blame. Introspection is required and corrective measures must be taken.

India should discuss the problem with Pakistan. But, ultimately, it has to be settled with the Kashmiris, whatever route we take. It is a tragedy that we have not realised this even today. We still believe that the induction of more forces will calm things down. The crux of the problem from day one has been the people8217;s confidence. We have done practically little to win it. Once we do so, Pakistan will have no alternative except to accept the wishes of the Kashmiris.