Opinion A leader in Kashmir

It was by accident,last week,while reading a report in one of the newspapers that I came across the name of Masarat Alam Bhat. What intrigued me was that the reporter said that he spoke perfect English,never used a cell phone for fear of being caught,and used the Internet to communicate with his supporters. So I Googled and Youtubed him instantly and listened with rapt attention to his appeal to Indian soldiers to leave Jammu & Kashmir. It was in coherent,educated English.

Then I listened to his speech to his supporters in Urdu. He spoke of the ‘psychological warfare’ that the Indian state and the Indian media were using to intimidate Kashmiris. He spoke of Kashmir’s ‘slavery’ under India. He ordered his supporters not to be misled by the National Conference or the PDP (People’s Democratic Party). He talked of ‘great goals requiring great sacrifices’. But,what I found most interesting was that he talked of a Kashmir in which there would be the dominance of Islam. He used the expression ‘Islam ka bolbala’ and a light switched on in my head.

What is happening in Kashmir is remarkably similar to what happened in Punjab in the early eighties. The Akali Dal was leading a movement that sought to get Punjab more water from its rivers,Chandigarh,and I think more rights for the Sikhs. Then along came Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale,hijacked the daily protests,and added that Khalistan was the movement’s real goal. The Government of India dithered and dithered until it was too late. History will record Operation Bluestar as an unmitigated disaster. It became the cause of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and did more to alienate ordinary Sikhs than anything she had ever done.

Masarat Alam is Kashmir’s Bhindranwale. He speaks in the language of radical Islam. His speeches are filled with religious references,he has a mullah’s untended beard,and his goal is not just freedom for Kashmir but freedom for an Islamic Kashmiri Republic. He is the male equivalent of Asiya Andrabi,who is so rabid an Islamist that she conceals even her eyes and hands. Her disembodied voice emerges from behind a black veil.

The influence of radical Islam in Kashmir has been growing over the past twenty years. It began in the early nineties with the forcible closing down of cinemas,video libraries and liquor shops. This Islamist movement’s leader is Masarat Alam. He is clear about his goals and this is more than we can say for the Government of India. Every now and then the Prime Minister makes conciliatory noises about talking to ‘anyone who gives up violence’. Instead,what he needs to do is explain in simple words why it is impossible for India to ever consider ‘azadi’ for Kashmir.

It is impossible because we do not want a little radical Islamist republic on the borders of Punjab. It is impossible because the average Indian does not support another division of India in the name of Islam. It is impossible because there is no sympathy for Kashmir’s eternal sense of grievance. So can the Prime Minister please show the courage to stand up and articulate clearly what he cannot do?

Once he does,it should become clear to those who sacrifice small children to the cause of ‘azadi’ that their children are dying for nothing. It might even persuade people like Masarat Alam to migrate to the Islamic Republic next door instead of nursing the dream of creating one on Indian soil. In the eyes of the world,India looks very bad on Kashmir because we have neither policy nor direction. All we appear to do is shoot unarmed children and follow this up with confused conciliatory noises about ‘winning hearts and minds’. This makes India look pathetic.

Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleen_singh