Editorial, "KASHMIR BURNING," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 July 2016, Vol. 12: Part 2, No. 13 issue

KASHMIR BURNING

like Ravanasura Kashta (the mythical pyre of Ravana, the king of Lanka) it seems. The recent killing of Burhan Wani, ‘commander’ of the dreaded terrorist [or revolutionary – it depends on which side of the conflict the observer is – per the famous saying, ‘One’s terrorist - another’s freedom fighter’] organization ‘Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’ on 8 July 2016 at village BEMDURU (strangely sounds a Telugu/ Dravidian name, perhaps suggesting some ancient links with Dravidian culture?), some 80 Kms from Srinagar,  in a well-informed and quickly executed attack by the armed police aided by the Army, has ignited huge flames of protest all over the valley [Jammu and Ladakh are not concerned, the people there largely desire total integration with India and if necessary separation from Kashmir], despite the unholy PDP-BJP alliance running the show of a state government there. Misinformed/misguided, or deliberately truth-suppressing vested interested, ‘secular’, ‘leftist’ and ‘liberal’ persons/parties/groups have taken this up as a golden opportunity to corner the pro-Hindu Central Government of Modi, whereas the extremists on the other side are vying for heavy repression and integration of the valley by any means. Saner counsels would suggest a golden mean. First of all, it has to be kept in mind that neither Wani nor his organization was fighting for Kashmir’s ‘azadi’. Their marching song is: “Hizb ul Mujahideen kay jawan hain hum / Syed Ali Geelani kaa Aelaan hain hum / Takbeeron kea naaron kaa tuufaan hain hum / Hindi fauzon sun lo Pakistan hain hum, Allah ho Akbar… (We soldiers of the ‘party of holy warriors’ / actors per declaration of Syed Ali Geelani (separatist Hurriyat leader) / storm-troopers with the slogans of takbeer (Allah is the Greatest) / Hear Indian armies we are Pakistan)” etc. So, Wani had nothing to do with Azadi in the sense of liberty, equality and fraternity for Kashmiris as an independent state, but was just fighting for Pakistan and the ideals of Mohammed bin Qasim and Ghazni Mahmud! The security forces made a huge mistake in handing over the dead bodies and then not properly managing the funeral procession, etc., which was calculatedly converted into violent rioting. This editor feels that Kashmir issue is a pre-partition problem still unsolved, and the remedy is to, if possible, come to some tacit understanding with Pakistan and China, and conduct a region-wise referendum after carving out a separate Amarnath Temple district contiguous to, and joining it in, Jammu – with the only option fixed by the United Nations long back in this India-Pakistan Dispute.  §§§