Kashmir is complex and tough to understand, but what we must realise is that it needs a humane approach more than a human one
As discussions abound in the media and in real life on the fracture lines becoming wider in American society, an Indian friend living in the US reminds us of what hypocrites we Indians are. Because whichever way you look at it, our own social divides are horrific and yet championed by some who prefer the majoritarian approach to life.
And nothing demonstrates our faultlines more than what is happening in Kashmir right now. The protests that began after the death of popular Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani last week in an anti-terror operation, have left at least 25 dead and hundreds injured. The government seems paralysed and people angry, bereft and confused. In fact, even now, while some in security forces claim that Wani was an armed terrorist, their own colleagues disagree and claim he was a social media puppet propped up by Pakistan to confuse us.
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Volunteers carry an injured man from an ambulance after he was shot in the clashes between security forces and protesters in Srinagar on Monday. Pic/AFP
Much as many in India cannot understand the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it is also clear that the situation itself is difficult to understand. We have layer upon layer of historical errors, of political misjudgment, of administrative inaction, of security overreach, of international interference, of predatory neighbours, of a fight for the right to self-determination and in India, when all else fails, we must see everything in a Hindu-Muslim light and spew some hatred on social media.
Given the rise of Islamic State and the current discussion of the role of televangelist Zakir Naik in the recent attacks in Bangladesh, the Hindu-Muslim angle is the way to go for many. Of course, by doing so, we walk into India’s second-most fractured territory after caste. The fact is that the Jammu and Kashmir state government is a coalition between the PDP and the BJP and when it comes to their political positions on the raison d’être of J&K and indeed on being Hindu and being Muslim, they are on opposite sides of the spectrum.
But falling back on name-calling and pointing fingers does not seem like the most apt way to find a solution or even apply balm to hurt minds. When something is so very wrong, posturing cannot make it better.
I myself fall into the confused category when it comes to Kashmir. In my more than five decades, I have seen wars with Pakistan, I have seen the rise and end of the Khalistan movement, I have seen terror attacks and riots. But the problems for the people of Kashmir have only increased, with each step forward countered by six steps back.
Even a little understanding might help a bit, if everything was not quite so complicated. If you accept that Kashmir is an integral part of India, then you have to ask yourself why there is so much pain and anger against the Indian state, regardless of your own nationalistic fervour. And yet, even if you feel the pain, Kashmir assaults your conscience, your good sense, your ideas about yourself, your ideas about justice and fair play, your ideas about military might and rights, your ideas about history. Common sense tells you that the best solution should be political and that the worst solution would be military. But when too many things are judged on the prism of patriotism alone, you know that no answers and no original thought will be forthcoming from those in charge.
This current stand-off is not the first in Jammu and Kashmir and not the first in recent times. Listening to our TV news anchors, stars all of them in their own minds, going all fire and brimstone about Zakir Naik and IS and Pakistan, you realise why public discourse is so damaging and so foolish in this country. In our endeavour to explain everything in black and white, we ignore the real problems and the people who suffer. And yet, nowhere does this black and white approach work, as what is happening in the US demonstrates, even if Donald Trump does become the president.
My only small hope for the people of Kashmir, bound as it is by my ignorance, is that someone might realise that a humane approach might work a little better than a human one.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist. You can follow her on Twitter @ranjona
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