Marking J&K students across India
Rajni Shaleen Chopra
Omar Abdullah has rightly expressed apprehension about the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, asking Kolkata Police for details about students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in colleges there. According to The Indian Express, the exercise is being conducted to create dossiers on J&K students so that the police can monitor their activities.
The newspaper has reported that following the JNU controversy, the Centre had issued an advisory to all states to take adequate precautionary measures, and avoid a repeat of such incidents. From this, one may infer that other states in the country may have also been directed to collect information about J&K students and create dossiers.
Many may see this exercise as an attempt to intimidate students from J&K. Thousands of students from the state are studying in various states in India. Given the poor record of our police force all over the country, this move will understandably make both parents and students highly apprehensive that bona fide J&K students may be unfairly targeted.
It may also lead to fears that police may use this information to hound and harass students from the state. These fears are real. I fervently hope that police in any state will not use this exercise to bully or intimidate J&K students in any way.
One must also see this exercise from the other end of the spectrum. Many quarters in Kashmir expressed cheer at the pro-azadi, separatist slogans shouted at JNU. Some days later, similar slogans were heard in the prestigious Jadavpur University at Kolkata.
Simultaneously, posters demanding freedom for Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur came up in Jadavpur University. The language of the posters had the unmistakable stamp of pro-Kashmir slogans shouted in the Valley. ‘Hum kya chahe, Azadi/Kashmir ki Azadi/Manipur ki Azadi/Nagaland ki Azadi’, said one poster.
Regarding the JNU row, what raised public temper was not that some students took an ultra-Left stand or expressed political dissent against the government. Political dissent is normal and also healthy for a democracy. What most Indians cannot digest were slogans like ‘Bharat tere tukde honge Insha Allah’, ‘Bharat ki barbaadi tak jang rahegi’, or ‘Ghar ghar se Afzal niklega, tum kitne Afzal maaroge’ raised on JNU campus.
The courts will decide whether Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and others have been wrongly charged, and been made scapegoats. It is appalling for an Indian to conceive that a public university flourishing on taxpayer money should be host to such toxic sloganeering. Almost all liberals have refused to validate these noxious slogans, and rightly so.
Political engagement on campuses should remain constructive, non-confrontationist and non-violent. Separatist, secessionist sloganeering cannot be equated with political engagement. If some students or youth from Kashmir choose to turn campuses into platforms for promoting separatism from India, they will have to be ready to face the consequences.
It is common for such sloganeers to claim that their political rights have been trampled upon, and choked. They forget that political rights come with political responsibilities.
Separatist sentiments expressed by some Kashmiri youth in campuses outside have focused attention on all students from J&K. Meanwhile, a news-report carried by NDTV a day later, on March 16, said top officials in the Home Affairs Ministry were concerned that the advisory had been misunderstood. They said they never asked a list of students to be compiled.
NDTV carried an image of the advisory which said: “Students of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are studying in different colleges and universities located in various states/UTs of the country. There is perception among the people of Jammu and Kashmir that their wards are being treated with suspicion and hostility outside the state. In this regard, it is requested to ensure the protection of students from J&K. Incidents affecting these students may be handled with utmost care and sensitivity.” Officials said that because families had complained that students have trouble finding housing, for example, they asked states to “ensure the protection of students from J&K”.
It is commonplace for some youth in Kashmir to shout anti-India slogans at Lal Chowk or elsewhere in the Valley. This same vicious sloganeering cannot be allowed to spawn across educational campuses in the country.
Campuses have routinely granted freedom of expression to students. If those with separatist sentiments choose to abuse this freedom, it is a deliberate and well-thought-out action on their part. If they come on the wrong side of the law, they cannot complain about the legal implications.
I agree that over the last few decades, Kashmir has been a victim of flawed policy-making by New Delhi. There have been times, during these decades, when Kashmiris had firmly rejected the separatists.
It is sad that New Delhi failed to consolidate this peace. The refusal to withdraw the obnoxious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the Valley or reduce the Army’s footprint, coupled with the poor performance of the state governments, has eroded people’s faith in the system.
Kashmir has battled tough challenges. A struggle of 30 years may perhaps come with the lesson that separatism or armed rebellion is not the answer, however exotic and utopian the idea may seem.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted the much-loved poet Nida Fazli during his recent address in Rajya Sabha. The nazm is highly meaningful.
Safar mein dhoop to hogi, Jo chal sako to chalo/Sabhi hain bheed mein, tum bhi nikal sako to chalo/Kisi ke waste rahein kahan badalti hain, Tum apne aap ko khud hi badal sako to chalo/ Yahan koi kisi ko raasta nahin deta, Mujhe gira ke agar tum sambhal sako to chalo.
I want to quote this nazm to the hundreds of Kashmiri youth who now target the Army during “anti-terrorist” operations.
All over India, our citizens face challenging circumstances. They battle poor hospital services, a sad education system, bad infrastructure and roads. These problems are not unique to Kashmir alone.
The youth in mainland India are not handed a good life on a platter. They strive. They work hard for it.
The richness of Kashmir’s heritage and culture matches the best seen around the world. The youth of Kashmir would serve their motherland better if they help Kashmiri arts, handicrafts and handlooms flourish, rather than engaging their time pelting stones at the Army, or obstructing anti-insurgency operations.
Many will take the high moral stand that nothing can be done in Kashmir. They are advised to learn from Shaheena Akhtar, daughter of a coppersmith at Nowshera, Srinagar. In 2007, with an investment of Rs 1 lakh, Shaheena started a pashmina-shawls making unit at her house. Today, her company has a turnover of lakhs of rupees.
Shaheena did not cry over all that Kashmir has lost. She is celebrating what Kashmir has. The shawls made at her factory are displayed at the finest stores in the world.
More and more Kashmiri entrepreneurs are now finding success, rooted in their culture, and bringing prosperity and employment to their homeland. These young Kashmiri entrepreneurs shine with purpose. They are flourishing, and taking the beauty of Kashmir to the world.
It is one’s personal grit and resolve which enables a person to live positively, and contribute to one’s motherland. Not hours spent in negativity, cursing everything around, and yet doing nothing to make it better.
Author is a senior journalist can be mailed at rajnishaleen@gmail.com
