I fail to understand why Burhan’s father, Mr Muzaffar Wani, met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the time when whole Kashmir is burning on the death of his son. The reason he cited was that he was there for treatment and that he had to get medicine for his ailments but how can he justify it when the whole Kashmir populace is caged from last 50 days and they don’t get even food for babies. More than 70 people have died and thousands injured in the current turmoil which started after the death of Burhan Wani. How he stayed in Ashram for 02 days when Kashmiris are going through a very bad phase and anti-India sentiment is on peak. Hundreds of of youth have lost vision in one or the both eyes due to the current unrest and so many have been maimed. Is Muzaffar Wani unaware about the prevailing situation in Kashmir or he has more to do than meets the eye.
At the time when Hurriyat leadership has failed with their protest calendars as it is not yielding any fruitful results, the act of Burhan’s father has let us down greatly. The hurriyat has directed in their protest programme, that we should make a list of needy people, but the question that needs to be answered is who is going to help them and who is going to support them to get rid of their miseries. Kashmiris are suffering on every front. Everyone is in deep depression how to get out of this nightmare. As Kashmir is shut from last more than 50 days, daily wagers are suffering badly. Transport is off the roads, how are they are going to feed their family without any business. Shops are closed and the people associated with it are without any source of income including the salesmen. Courier services are halted and with the result thousands of young boys are without any job which has lead them to utter depression. Hotels and Restaurants are empty and the people working there are sitting idle at their homes. Hawkers, Radheywallas, roadside vendors are confined to their homes and are living from hand to mouth. This is prone to make them susceptible to do illicit activities to meet their needs.
We have been observing strikes and shutdowns from last 30 years and it has never unnerved the Indian Establishment. Conversely, it has paralyzed our economy and with the passage of time we are getting more dependent on Indian exchequer. We are yet to recover from a catastrophe of 2014 floods and the current turbulence has taken a heavy toll on us. Kashmir business has already suffered Rs. 64,00 crore loss and we cannot afford to lose more. We need to ponder why youth in large numbers are applying for SPO jobs despite being paid a meager remuneration of Rs. 3000. They opt for this risky and most hated job in Kashmir to feed their poor families as there is no job available to them in these extreme conditions. Even high qualified and highly educated Kashmiri youth are joining Police department as constables because they are finding it difficult to find any work. We need to mull over that keeping the young generation idle for a long time can turn them into criminals, for instance, recently it has been observed that young teenagers are hacking Wi Fi passwords and thereby gaining the access to the bandwidth of some of the broadband connections as the mobile internet is snapped in Kashmir. This is small instance where a siege can make a person criminal.
It is high time that resistance leadership should rethink their strategy and get away from strikes which has badly hampered the life in Kashmir. Kashmir resistance needs youth and their survival. It will seize if our youth turn criminals as they have nothing nothing to feed on. Even Palestine is fighting for their cause against Israel but they never shut their business. Solid economy is the backbone to our resistance, It is due to which we can sustain our struggle. To achieve freedom needs a long time and energy coupled with our sound economy and a sustained process not a halted position.
With no government on ground, it seems like the PDP-BJP coalition wants things to take their own coarse and time. Or rather the pumping of more CRPF companies, SSB, Army and BSF Battalions is making things happen. When the Government knew that this act of theirs can create more ripples in the waters, they should have avoided this step.
Pointing the finger as on another will never help us achieve our goal, the ultimate goal- Peace and Justice. This is only pushing us towards more darkness.
We need to ponder on this and do what is right, if not for us but for the coming generation. We the youth of Kashmir have seen enough of Politics and negative diplomacy, it’s time to realize our responsibilities and make strategic moves so that our freedom struggle will move in a positive direction will least effect on our economy and the least no of causalities.
Moreover, New Delhi needs to initiate a dialogue process with all the stakeholders of Jammu & Kashmir to find a long lasting solution to Kashmir imbroglio as this has caused a tremendous loss of life and property in Kashmir.
The views presented in this article are the Author’s own, and does not in any way depict the views of the Kashmir Digest. This is an Op Ed
Javeed Ali
Zadibal, Srinagar.