Major Gogoi not the first, New Delhi has a history of ‘Promoting’ violence in the Valley
A series of controversial and often disdainful remarks by Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat should not be seen in isolation of the tense situation in the Kashmir Valley, where the counter-insurgency grid is resorting to old, worn-out tactics in dealing with new challenges on the ground – making matters even worse.
If the growing ranks of militants over the last two years was not a problem enough, the campuses of educational institutions are now turning into battlegrounds. As the army chief himself admitted, there is enough military power to deal with the militants and militancy in Kashmir. But how to deal with a ten-year-old boy carrying a stone in his hand?
Except for the ruling dispensation and the supporters of its hardline policy, there are no two thoughts across the country that Kashmir needs more political engagement. From former home minister P Chidambaram to Kashmir’s policy groups, there is unanimous chatter that a dialogue must be started to prevent the situation in the Valley from spiralling out of control.
Even senior BJP leaders like former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who led a delegation to Kashmir and met a cross-section of people, including the mainstream parties and the Hurriyat leaders, has urged the government to start political engagement and find a political solution to the Kashmir problem.
But the BJP-led government at the Centre, devoid of any art of statecraft, seems to be shying away from such a proposition. Perhaps they are wary of the effects it might have on the surcharged political atmosphere across the country, where even the saner voices have turned into cheerleaders for the BJP’s radical approach towards sensitive issues like Kashmir.
The question that then arises is: If Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani could meet and talk with the Hurriyat leaders, which subsequently dawned a new era of peace and prosperity in Kashmir, what is holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi back?
Sceptics believe that it is the so-called ‘Doval Doctrine’ at work – beating the people of Kashmir into submission so that they have neither the energy nor the will to stand up again. But history tells us that such an approach has not and will not work in Kashmir.
Since 1947, New Delhi has adopted only one policy on Kashmir, which is of violence. Be it Sheikh Abdullah, who was arrested and incarcerated for long years, or the Janata Dal government, there is no evidence to show that New Delhi has wanted to resolve Kashmir politically. If violence didn’t work over the last 70 years, isn’t it time to give dialogue a chance?
Instead, New Delhi searches for opportunities to humiliate and dehumanise the people of Kashmir. Major Leetul Gogoi was not the first Army officer who was rewarded for perpetrating crimes against the people of Kashmir.
” In the past, all officers involved in heinous crimes perpetrated against the people of Kashmir have been rewarded, given promotions and post-retirement benefits. Ex-director general of police (of Jammu & Kashmir) Kuldeep Khoda and Altaf Khan, an SSP-ranked officer, to name a few.”
Bringing accountability into institutions that are meant to serve the people forms the essence of any democracy. But here, we have a case where we are allowing the Army to dive into the politics surrounding sensitive issues like Kashmir and then standing behind its wrongdoings.
This will not only further alienate Kashmiris but give the separatists elements and excuses to whip up their passions. It is time to build bridges in Kashmir, not to blow them apart.
