Author: Tavleen Singh
Publication: India Today
Date: January 29, 2001
As if it wear the final solution
to the Kashmir problem, we have, for weeks now, debated the composition
of the delegation of Hurriyat leaders that wishes to go to Pakistan. On
almost a daily basis newspapers across the country carried on their front
pages pictures of long-faced, pheran-clad gentlemen in gloomy discourse.
The accompanying stories speculated ponderously about who would go and
what this would mean, as if it were the most important question for the
future of the Indian subcontinent. Few commentators had the courage to
admit that it would make no difference at all, that it did not matter who
went or why. They are, please remember, going only because Pakistan's general
wants to establish his belief that the All Party Hurriyat Conference represents
the people of Kashmir as distinct front the people of India. This is his
way of paving the way for eventual tripartite talks between India. Pakistan
and Kashmir.
So, sitting in distant Islamabad,
Pakistan's un-elected Government has decided who should represent the Kashmiri
people. And, since democracy is riot something Pakistan understands, or
even has respect for, it is appropriate that it chose a group of politicians
that has never shown any ability to win votes. A little like Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale deciding, in those long gone days, that he represented the
Sikh community. The Sikhs never indicated that they accepted his self-appointed
leadership, nobody asked them anyway. Since they were dealing with death
squads which never had time for debate, few people objected when their
elected representatives were marginalised as Bhindranwale rose and rose
and rose.
Something like this is happening
to Farooq Abdullah. As Jammu and Kashmir's legally elected chief minister
you would think that he had some right to speak for the state. But no,
he does not because Pakistan objects to the fact that he considers himself
Indian and India is too namby-pamby about what it wants to come down firmly
on his side.
When terrorists from Pakistan shot
at bun last week and declared that they would continue to try killing him
there was the usual feeble response trout the Home Ministry. Tch, tch,
very bad, very bad. How can we consider peace moves when Pakistan's unofficial
soldiers are busy (despite our cease-fire pronouncements) trying riot just
to assassinate a chief minister but even blow up the Red Fort in Delhi?
In short, we are yet again allowing terrorism to triumph over democracy.
More significantly, we still do not know what we are actually trying to
achieve in Kashmir. If we did we could dictate the agenda and Pakistan
would have to listen.
There call be no peace process in
Kashmir until the Government of India decides what it wants to achieve
and how. Meanwhile, it would help our position considerably if' we were
seen to be improving our human rights record in the Valley. There is no
way that peace will come to Kashmir unless our security forces understand
that killing innocent people as terrorists is not good policy. There is
also no way that the average Kashmiri will understand that being part of'
India is in his own interest unless he sees around him settle of the benefits
of this proposition. Even a casual visitor to Kashmir can see that it is
falling to pieces, that if there were once good roads they no longer exist
and that almost nothing has happened that can be vaguely described as development
for several years now. If Kashmir is, as our leaders like to tell us, a
special state, then surely Farooq's bankrupt Government could have at least
been offered financial help from Delhi.
This is only the domestic dimension.
There is also Bail international dimension to the problem that has not
been addressed except for our having shouted from the rooftops that Pakistan
is responsible for cross-border terrorism. Fine, but what are we going
to do about it'
Are we going to talk to Pakistan
directly? Are we going to seek international mediation? And, if we are
going to do neither, what do we plan to do? So far all that A. B. Vajpayee's
Government has done is tumble around ill the dark. At one time, senior
officials in Delhi said they were not talking to Pakistan because they
wanted the general to stew ill his own mess. Then why are we allowing the
Hurriyat delegation to go at all? If Pakistan has invited them because
it sees them as representing Kashmir and not India, then are we prepared
to accept that Kashmir is no longer a part of India.
It is an absurd situation ill which
the Hurriyat delegation is yet another absurdity. Even if the Hurriyat
leaders succeed ill going, what do they hope to achieve? Since they consider
themselves Kashmiri and not Indian we cannot demand answers front them.
But we certainly have a right to demand answers - if not a clear Kashmir
policy-from our own Government. Call we have some answers please?