For long, news of trouble in Kashmir brought up images of Kalashnikov-wielding terrorists and ideologues of jihad against India
sneaking in from Pakistan giving the Indian Army a bloody nose, in response to which the latter would strike back in search and cordon operations with all the attendant blowback — collateral, both human and material. Kashmiri women, and especially children, were never the face of the terrorist or the insurgent-separatist. This time, though, it is different.
Faced with the killing of a civilian by an inept police force under a popular government that they had elected and infused with high expectations of a better life, it is Kashmiri women and young children who are at the forefront of the urban warfare that has convulsed the Kashmir valley these past weeks.
As reports filter in of a breakaway group of a separatist group cashing in on the popular anger and bussing the bands of stone pelters in a more organised manner to various towns and villages in Valley, the danger posed by the radicalisation of a generation of Kashmiris who have not seen or understood the pitfalls of being caught between the authorities and militancy, is all too apparent.
Dr Hameeda Khan, a lecturer teaching English at Kashmir University, seen by many as reflecting the mainstream voice of the Valley says the protests were set off by the army’s attempts to cover up a fake encounter on April 30 under the unrelenting gaze of the media. “On April 30, this year when four people were killed in a fake encounter, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself declared that the army was acting as judge, jury and hangman. His words had a tremendous impact on our psyche,” says Dr Khan.
“Then, in May, a young boy was hit by a teargas shell. The next day, the police said it was a case of local crime, but the medical report revealed he had died of bullet injuries. The local TV channels and newspapers showed the image of his disfigured body repeatedly. Our blood boiled. Obviously, there was an eruption of anger which has continued unabated.”
Shakeela Khan, 26, who lives in downtown Srinagar, is upset with this spiral of violence. “I blame both sides for what has been going on,” she says, “After all, some 50 Kashmiris have died in this violence.” And the women and children on the streets? “A great deal of mobilisation has been taking place in the last two years, which is why women and children have taken to the streets this time round. My question is, isn’t the chief minister aware of what is going on? Don’t he and the leaders of this agitation realise the consequences? Our families have become dysfunctional.
Each mohalla is pressuring a neighbouring mohalla to join it in the protests. Do they think this is all spontaneous?” She says hundreds of families have sent their children to live in the villages fearing for their safety. “My parents have sent my younger brother and sister to our native village. My 22-year-old brother is here, but he has been forbidden to step into the street. So far, he has been obedient, but who knows when peer pressure will take over ?” she asks.
Blame is freely apportioned. A government staffer says former chief minister Mufti Mohammed’s People’s Democratic Party is behind the agitation. “Everyone knows that Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah cannot stand each other, and each is waiting to score points against the other. We also know that during the Amarnath Yatra, we are going to witness one agitation or the other. This has happened for three successive years. Mark my words, violence will continue up to August 17, after which things will quieten down.”
The official believes that illiteracy is one of the reasons why Kashmiris are easily instigated and that it could mar the future of yet another generation of them. “Sixty five per cent of the people here cannot read or write. They have little at stake even though the lives of thousands of our youth are being destroyed. This is the time for college admissions. Everything here is shut, and stone-pelting is being offered as an alternative to employment! Young boys are being offered money to come onto the streets. A phone call is made in every mohallah and the word spreads around. The children of all our leaders, be it Omar Abdullah or Mehbooba Mufti or the Hurriyat leaders, are studying in Delhi or abroad while our children continue to suffer,” the agitated mother of two school-going children says. “Our politicians are playing games with the blood of our youth and no one is lifting a finger at that. Even in normal times, what are our children exposed to? Hartals, violence and heavy militarisation. There are no cinema theatres, no clubs or recreation centres where young people can go out and play. Now, even their routine of going to school and spending time with friends has been taken away from them.”
Dr Muzzafar Khan, a clinical psychologist working at a drug de-addiction centre in Srinagar fears that the continuing agitation will result in a sharp increase in the number of addicts amongst young people.
“Young adults are going to be left scarred by all this violence. We have eight beds and a waiting list of 300 patients. Now, I fear a virtual epidemic of drugs. Already, a large section of the population is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Dr Khan is critical of parents who have allowed their eight and 10-year-olds to turn into stone-pelters. “What hold will these parents have over their children when they grow up? We are going to see an entire generation grow up into lawless citizens and that’s not good for any society.” Where will all this lead to? Another generation of Kashmiris growing up into insurgents, emulating the Palestinian intifada, playing right into the hands of foreign-inspired terrorists salivating at the failure of Kashmir’s experiment with democracy?