Give Kashmir to Pakistan: Don’t insult Indian nation again and again

As if all this was not enough to cause immense damage to the Indian cause in Jammu & Kashmir, Foreign Minister SM Krishna virtually gave a clean chit to Pakistan while reacting to the terrorist attack in Pune on February 13, which left nine innocent persons dead and more than 60 injured, some still struggling for life in various hospitals.

Krishna said the Pune terrorist attack was the handiwork of those opposed to resumption of talks between India and Pakistan. He completely ignored what Jamaat-ul-Dawah (JuD) leader Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki announced in Muzaffarabad on February 4 in a public meeting which was also addressed by several Islamic radicals, including Syed Salahuddin. (The supposedly banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operates under the garb of JuD.) Makki said Delhi, Pune and other towns of India were their next targets.

As evidence of a LeT-Indian Mujahideen hand gathered, Krishna later retreated partially, saying he would take a final decision on the proposed talks only after examining the report on the attack to be submitted by the concerned authorities. He said: “I will evaluate the Pune blast before deciding on the future of India-Pakistan talks… Let me get the report… Then perhaps we will have to look into those reports and evaluate them”.

But the damage had been done. A wrong signal had gone across the world - that Krishna would not withdraw the offer of talks and that he would treat the outraged and angry Indian Nation in a cavalier manner.

We shall have to wait and see what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister SM Krishna, nay Congress president Sonia Gandhi, ultimately decide to do. But don’t expect the custodians of the Indian state to reform themselves. Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari gave ample hints in this regard. Pakistan and Kashmiri militants must be laughing at us and celebrating, while the Indian nation is in grief and shock.     

Six: What about Home Minister P Chidambaram, who not so-long-ago declared umpteen times that India would retaliate if a 26/11-like terrorist attack was repeated? He must be cursing himself for administering a threat he was incapable of translating into action, for the simple reason that he is also one of the custodians of the Indian State that is in the middle of war against itself.

Now who will take the Home Minister seriously? He has made a mockery of himself and the country! 

The Home Minister need not curse himself, if he is actually cursing himself. After all, what has he done to tackle the fast-deteriorating situation in Jammu & Kashmir? If anything, he has only contributed to the process of the state’s segregation from India that was set-in-motion by the Indian state – people have virtually come to believe that separation of Jammu & Kashmir from India is only a matter of time and that things are moving very fast in that direction.

Read his common cause with Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and his outrageous militant-centric February 11 New Delhi declaration together with his October 14, 2009, Srinagar statement on quiet talks, quiet diplomacy and unique solution to the Kashmir problem and you will reach a right conclusion: He has wittingly or unwittingly become a part of the country’s disintegration process.

What did the Union Home Minister say on that black day, February 11, 2010? Endorsing Omar Abdullah’s line, which was rejected outright by Union Health Minister and former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on February 9 on the ground that it would “endanger national security,” Chidambaram, among several other controversial and undesirable things, said: “The government is ready to ‘welcome’ Kashmiris (read fully trained and highly indoctrinated Kashmiri militants whose number ranges between 4,000 and 5,000) who had gone to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir if they are ready to return after giving up militancy. The idea that any Indian who crossed over to PoK and wishes to return to India is certainly welcome… The idea is accepted… This idea must now be translated into a scheme… PoK is actually an Indian territory and the government should facilitate the return of those who had gone across the Line of Control for some reasons.”

It would not be out of place to mention here that it was the opposition National Conference that had in 2005-6 ensured the collapse of the resolution seeking what Omar Abdullah demanded on February 7 while participating in the Chief Ministers’ meeting on internal security in New Delhi, and what the Home Minister acceded to without applying his mind. (Perhaps, his whole aim was to cut the Union Health Minister to size and tell others that it would be suicidal for those who dare oppose the pro-separatist and pro-militant official line.) CPI-M MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami had moved the resolution and the Congress-People’s Democratic Party coalition was ruling the state then.

It would be appropriate to point out that poor Azad had to fall in line just two days later (February 13) to save his office. On Feb. 13, a crestfallen and isolated Azad, himself a devout Muslim, told Doordarshan in New Delhi that “there is nothing wrong with the surrender policy” and “we need to take Confidence Building Measures as they’re imperative for peace restoration”.

Let us catalogue a few of the many evils that would follow the introduction of the surrender / rehabilitation / return policy. (1) Pakistan would be able to export more and more dreaded terrorists to Kashmir. (2) The number of trained and indoctrinated militants and extremists would increase manifold in no time, thus making the task of our security forces more arduous. (3) The return of Kashmiri militants from PoK to the Valley and their rehabilitation would provoke protests in Jammu province where the educated unemployed youth are already seething with anger.

The educated unemployed youth in Jammu province are seething with anger, saying those who take the law of the land into their hands, kill and maim innocent civilians, attack the symbols and institutions of the Republic and conspire against India are being given incentives and official patronage, while those who have been protesting peacefully in a democratic manner for jobs under the government are being mocked at and ignored by the custodians of the Indian state.

But more than that, the implementation of the proposed surrender/rehabilitation policy would encourage more and more youth to take to arms to become eligible for minting easy money and enjoying official patronage.

That the proposed surrender/rehabilitation/return policy is ill-motivated is evident from the statements made by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party president and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Mehbooba Mufti. While the jubilant Omar Abdullah described the announcement of the Union Home Minister as a “great gift to the militants’ families”, the equally happy Mehbooba Mufti hailed the announcement as “most welcome”. The attitude of other Kashmiri leaders has been one of overwhelming satisfaction.

One thing is clear: The custodians of the Indian state are all out to give unflinching support to anti-India actors, Pakistan included, and undo all that the Indian nation did during all these 63 years to defend the country’s unity and integrity and keep Pakistan and its agents in Kashmir under reasonable control. They would go on saying PoK is Indian Territory, but would take no steps to reintegrate it with India. Instead, they would allow Pakistan to export to India terrorists from PoK to play their nefarious games with renewed zeal. The actions of the Union Home Minister and custodians of the Indian state are more than self-explanatory.  

The Indian nation never expected the custodians of the Indian state to play with its sentiments and behave in such an irresponsible manner. No wonder some disgusted Indians have started asking New Delhi: Give Kashmir to Pakistan: Don’t insult the Indian nation again and again.

God save India and the Indian nation. God, the situation has climaxed to the point where it has become impossible to lead a dignified life and raise one’s head with self-respect.

(Concluded)

The author is Chair Professor, Gulab Singh Chair, Jammu University, Jammu