India’s outdated Kashmir policy

The Kashmir issue is at the forefront of the Indian establishment since the Partition of the Sub-continent in 1947. It is one issue that it has been unable to fully comprehend or resolve it. Of course, resolution only comes after proper comprehension. But it seems in this case the lack of comprehension and understanding about the problem is so grave that it has always been overshadowed by recklessness and irresponsibility to the core.

Over the years, the divide between the security establishment and the people has grown leaps and bounds. The people fully understand that they are under foreign occupation and sooner or later they have to get rid of it. Thus they face and challenge the security forces at will. On the other hand, for the security forces, posting to the valley is a hardship posting. They realise at the back of their minds that they are in the valley to subjugate a population that hates them and shows its hatred by throwing rocks and closing shops whenever they can. They also see that the bullets they fire and the torture they inflict on the ordinary people doesn’t stop them from coming out on the roads again and again. The blinding of several hundred people, including women and children, has failed to deliver the desired objectives. Similarly, the world is not ready to believe that Pakistan is responsible for whatever is going on in the valley. Yes, Islamabad offers political and moral support to the Kashmiris but the support ends there. There is no physical support to the home-grown freedom movement and thus the suffering of the local people goes on.

Ironically, the chairman of the Indian National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) recently admitted to the Hindustan Times: “There is a deep and growing divide between those who administer the state and the people. This is encapsulated in the “We versus They” syndrome that is manifest in the state bureaucracy, the security forces and intelligence agencies. During one visit I was narrating to senior civilian and military officials that in interactions with civil society one had come across an acute sense of humiliation, helplessness and resentment, which the ordinary citizens felt in daily encounters with the state apparatus. It was the loss of personal dignity and self-respect, which seemed to be building up into a collective rage. The answer to this was to peremptorily reject these expressions as ‘habitual complaints’.” Insulting attitude, denial of basic freedoms, staged encounters, forced occupation. Then one should carefully read the above words ‘habitual complaints’. The Indian habits in Kashmir cannot linger on without putting great pressure on New Delhi --- and the costs to India are mounting.