[Palaniappan
Chidambaram , India ’s powerful home
minister, who is the country’s top security official, has visited Kashmir several times,
seeking to soothe anger over last summer’s violence. He declared on the floor
of Parliament that because the way in which Kashmir became part of India (by decree from its
Hindu sovereign more than 60 years ago) was unusual, Kashmiri demands required
a unique solution. The admission was surprising coming from a government whose
boilerplate statement has long been that Kashmir is an integral part
of India .]
By Lydia
Polgreen
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
|
It was the third rage-filled summer in a row, and
by the time the autumn leaves turned, more than 100 civilians had been killed.
Apples rotted from their branches in orchards across the valley and the saffron
went unharvested. The valley’s economy virtually collapsed.
When young Muslims across North Africa and the
Arabian Peninsula rose up this winter and spring against dictatorial
governments, it seemed inevitable that their example would find voice here, in
a mostly Muslim region that is claimed by both India and Pakistan,
and where Indian soldiers are seen as an occupying force.
Instead, the Kashmir Valley is enjoying an
unexpected season of tranquility. Tourists from across India have descended on the
valley, filling just about every airplane seat, hotel room and houseboat.
Business in Lal Chowk, the city’s bustling central market, is booming again.
Wooden shikara boats ferry vacationers across the shimmering surface of Dal Lake , trying to dodge the
latest attraction, zooming Jet Skis.
No grand bargain has been struck between India
and Pakistan that would explain the new calm, and no major concessions have been
made within the Indian portion of the region either. Draconian laws that shield
security forces from prosecution still allow the police to arrest anyone
suspected of disturbing the peace.
Yet subtle but unmistakable shifts have helped
calm the situation in Kashmir , which sits astride
one of the world’s most dangerous nuclear flash points.
“There is visible improvement in the situation,
no doubt,” said Yusuf Tarigami, a senior state legislator. “In terms of the
relationship with the Indian government, the relationship between India and Pakistan , and the quality of
governance people are enjoying.”
A détente between India and Pakistan has helped cool
tensions in the region, officials here say. Talks between the nations had been
on hold for two years after militants from Pakistan attacked the city of Mumbai , formerly Bombay , killing more than
160 people. The talks resumed this year in earnest, and on July 27 the two
countries announced a series of measures aimed at easing restrictions at the
Line of Control, the de facto border between the parts of Kashmir each country
controls.
After years of battling armed rebels seeking
independence, the security forces in the region never fully shifted their
mission from counterinsurgency to addressing unrest by civilians armed with
nothing but rocks. But that has changed. They have received new training and
equipment that allows them to control restive crowds without resorting to
lethal force.
“The government security machinery is a lot
better at handling situations that could arise out of protests than we were at
the same time last year, in terms of equipment, in terms of training and in
terms of mind-set as well,” said Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of the
Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir .
Young Kashmiris who last summer took to the
streets to throw stones at security forces are back on university campuses and
cricket fields, working summer jobs at family orchards and guesthouses.
Dozens of bunkers that scarred the streets of
downtown Srinagar have been removed,
lifting the sense of siege that has hung over the city for years.
“You drive through a crossroads in the middle of
your city and instead of a roundabout you see a concrete bunker with guns
pointing at you,” Mr. Abdullah said. “It was a provocation.”
Nighttime checkpoints, a humiliating nuisance to
many Kashmiris, have been sharply curtailed. Heavily armed paramilitary forces
used to line the streets of many city neighborhoods, particularly areas with
deep-seated separatist leanings. But these deployments have been reduced.
The government has appointed a trio of
interlocutors who have been traveling around the Kashmir Valley , speaking to
communities and trying to come up with ways to address their grievances. While
the group has been derided for its low-key approach, its recommendations have
been largely embraced in New Delhi .
Mr. Abdullah admitted in an interview that he had
learned some tough lessons in the past few years. He said he had been too
remote and out of touch with the way ordinary people felt.
“I got hammered really badly for being
disconnected,” he said. “I think the biggest lesson is that there is absolutely
no substitute for hard-core, people-to-people contact. You do not administer Jammu and Kashmir . You have to govern.”
Much of the unrest the Indian government has
faced here in the past few years was self-inflicted. After record turnout in
elections in 2008, senior Indian politicians crowed that Kashmiris had
essentially voted for union with India . This angered many who
felt their vote had meant nothing of the sort: they were voting for local
representatives to help with basic governance issues, not making a broad
statement about their national identity.
After several years of unrest, a major test of
the new calm came in late July, when a woman from the southern Kashmir Valley claimed that two army
officers had kidnapped and raped her. In the past, such allegations were
brushed aside, but this time, state and army officials immediately sprang into
action. A senior minister was sent to meet with the woman and her family and a
criminal investigation was immediately opened.
On Twitter, Mr. Abdullah vowed that anyone found
guilty would be punished, in spite of laws shielding army personnel from
criminal charges while working in Kashmir . After a few tense
days and a strike that shut down the valley for a day, the crisis ebbed and
life returned to normal.
But at the core, the issue for many Kashmiris
remains unchanged.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the aging separatist
leader who led the calls for strikes and protests over the last few years, said
this lull was not true peace.
“This is a forcible peace that has been made at
the point of a gun,” he said. “People are under very grave slavery.”
Maqbool Rishi, a student of zoology at the University of Kashmir who took part in
protests last year, said that the struggle for self-determination would
continue.
“It is just a cycle,” he said. “The protest will
come again and again. It is the inner voice of Kashmir .”
His fellow student, Nafeez Ahmed, said that many
Kashmiris had suffered devastating losses last year, and needed to regroup. His
family lost its entire apple crop because it could not get it to market.
“Most of our fruits rotted on the trees,” he
said. He had planned to buy a laptop for his studies, but the purchase had to
be postponed.
“Everyone lost a lot,” he said. “We need to earn
to live.”
COMMENT(S)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mukund Apte <mdapte@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 9:47 AM
Subject: Re: KASHMIR: A DISPUTED REGION ENJOYS AN UNUSUAL SUMMER OF POLITICAL CALM
To: The Himalayan Voice <himalayanvoice@gmail.com>
Dear Sir,
Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 9:47 AM
Subject: Re: KASHMIR: A DISPUTED REGION ENJOYS AN UNUSUAL SUMMER OF POLITICAL CALM
To: The Himalayan Voice <himalayanvoice@gmail.com>
Dear Sir,
When the government minister starts expressing doubts about the part of their country, it is evident that the rulers are not loving their country. They don't appear to be patriots, do they? But this is what is called democracy.
When the ruler had acceded to Bharat in 1948, was there any question of any dispute in its becoming a fully integral part of Bharat? Then Pakistan invaded and occupied some part of it in 1948 and Bharat Sarkar, did not permit Bharatiya Army to clear the state full of invaders. Instead we complained to UN. How can the region become disputed when invaders are permitted to hold on some portion?
Mukund Apte,
Mumbai, India