Missing pieces in the jigsaw

In the topsy-turvy universe of insurgency-scarred Jammu and Kashmir, the abnormal became the normal. So thoroughly had violence permeated li...

In the topsy-turvy universe of insurgency-scarred Jammu and Kashmir, the abnormal became the normal. So thoroughly had violence permeated life, whether it was the terror perpetrated by militants or by the police/army, that blood on the streets became as pedestrian as the sun in a daytime sky. Today, as never before, a combination of six factors gives India a chance to work towards altering this reality and retrieving for the people of the state their inalienable right to live normal lives: the ceasefire along the LoC; the thawing of relations between India and Pakistan and the beginning of a dialogue on Kashmir; the international isolation of terrorist groups in the region; the possibility of a top-level engagement with the Hurriyat Conference; the sharp decline in insurgency-related violence; the benefits of the first credible election in over two decades. Each of these factors in their own way have helped the process of change, but taken together they signify a transformative moment.

Already, there is acknowledgement of the benefits of stability 8212; and not just in terms of more Bollywood films with backdrops of snow-clad peaks. At one point, tourism had collapsed but this year alone, as of September, tourist arrivals touched 160,000, which included 55,000 foreigners. In a state that has no manufacturing base to speak of 8212; the Planning Commission has just revealed that J038;K has only four industrial units per lakh population, as against the all-India average of 13 8212; consider the multiplier effects of tourism in terms of livelihoods and the dividends become patently clear. Incidentally, there were two other significant measures of improvement: the year saw the number of pilgrims to Vaishnodevi touch a historic high of 52,19,752 and more than 154,000 devotees visited the Amarnath shrine in an incident-free season. STD and ISD connections were re-established and the state went mobile for the first time this year. Srinagar teed off in the Kashmir Open 2003 and, when winter set in, Gulmarg promptly skied off its slippery slopes .

The question mark looming over this picture-perfect scenario is about the sustainability of the recovery. Is there scope for optimism over a return to 8220;normalcy8221; in J038;K? A great deal hinges on how two important engagements play out in 20048212;the Indo-Pak and the Indian government-Hurriyat Conference dialogues. But it is also true that a return to 8220;normalcy8221; crucially depends upon whether the ordinary citizen perceives a stake in it or not. After all, it was the decision of this very individual to come out and vote in October 2002 that was the key factor in ushering the changes already witnessed. It would need the determination of the same individual to overcome the unhappy legacy of the last 15 years that saw the displacement of thousands of Pandits from the Valley and the hill districts of Jammu.

8220;Normalcy8221; requires the Pandits to return to where they belong, and lead lives as equal citizens in full security. Anything less will be an acceptance of a bitter history that has impacted upon not just the secular fabric of J038;K but that of India. The forced displacement of Pandits8212;over three lakh of them, according to one estimate8212;from December 1989 onwards, through threats, terror and murderous attacks, has been one of the most tragic developments in recent times. There are some who argue that if the administration of the day had stood firm, shown the necessary will to defeat the insurgents8217; gameplan and offered the required protection to a besieged community during the high noon of the 8220;azaadi8221; campaign, when the microphones of local mosques were used by militants to create an all-pervasive blanket of fear, this may never have acquired the proportions it did. But such a debate at this point of time is not useful. The discourse has, in any case, been so polarised, so vitiated, the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit so fiercely claimed by the votaries of Hindutva for their political ends, that it has been extremely difficult to breathe any rationality into it. Every time anybody tried to expose the Gujarat government8217;s unconscionable failure to protect the lives of its Muslim citizens in February 2002, the riposte invariably was: Why did you keep quiet when Kashmiri Pandits were attacked? To which the counter-response was that 8220;of course we did, but the genuine plight of the Pandits doesn8217;t make the Gujarat riots any less reprehensible8221;. This can continue forever but it does very little for the people robbed of their homes, families and personal history, who are caught in the crossfire.

So what is the way forward? Clearly, there can be no question of coercion. The biggest fear displaced people anywhere face is that of being forcibly resettled and then left to suffer without help. The fact is that the threat to life is still very real as the killing of 24 Pandits in Nadimarg village in March this year demonstrated. The only way ahead then is a calibrated, step-by-step approach, with the close involvement of the community itself. It should aim at confidence building within the Pandit community at one level and preparing the ground in the various home bases at the other. It would require steps like securing the property and business interests left behind by the Pandits, the setting up of defence committees at the neighbourhood level, the registration of the migrants and the endowment of special entitlements in terms of education and jobs for the initial period.

The most difficult part of this project would be to address the great suspicion that exists between the two communities, fomented by political interests on both sides. While some Kashmiri leaders have openly voiced their disquiet about the possibility of resettled Pandits involving themselves in sectarian campaigns, Pandit leaders believe that the peace process is just an attempt to consolidate the Islamisation of Kashmir.

Hopefully, time and circumstance will blunt the raw edges of this exchange. After all, it was Sheikh Abdullah who had observed as early as 1932 that 8220;progress is impossible as long as we do not establish amicable relations between the different communities8221;. And the Panun Kashmir publicity material has an interesting quote: 8220;Kashmiri Hindus are essentially peace-loving and non-violent; living in a spirit of accommodation and amity with the people of all faiths8230;The mingling of faiths gave birth to the Sufi-Rishi tradition which is a part of the real Kashmiriat.8221;