This column appears on the eve of the birthday of Krishna, son of Devaki. At the time of his birth, his parents were put behind bars by the King fearing death at the hands of their son, as the gods had prophesied. For Devaki and Vasudev, Krishna's father, there was no hope, no chance of getting help from any close friend or relative or the awakened citizens of Vrindavan and Mathura- everyone was terror struck, feared for his life in the kingdom of Kamsa, Devaki's brother.
Yet, Krishna survived. Kamsa was killed. Citizens were provided protection and safety. Kaliya, the great serpent king was humbled and made to respect people who lived on the banks of Yamuna. Krishna fought wars but before every action he tried his best to persuade the wrong doer. When he found the evil empire unrepentant, he simply annihilated the entire clan. Forever. He restored Dharma, the righteousness.
But how, we, the controllers of power and pen in Delhi, ultimate reservoir of all wisdom, are living his legacy?
Instead of warning and annihilating the demons and terrorists ruthlessly, we are suggesting giving them what they want whole of Kashmir-to buy a peace that will never come to us this way. No body respects a coward and his peace making exercises. Even barbaric Jihadis would respect the words of a brave unyielding challenger and not the phony writers and journalists who would insult their tricolor for a piece of story or fame as a peacemaker pen pusher. We compromised to divide our motherland to buy peace- what we got in return were four wars and death of more than sixty thousand brave young soldiers.
You give Kashmir today for peace, they will demand Haryana and Himachal next and Delhi another day.
Now read this carefully.
"The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been and shall be an integral part of India and any attempts to separate it from the rest of the country will be resisted by all necessary means.
"India has the will and capacity to firmly counter all designs against its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and demands that Pakistan must vacate the areas of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which they have occupied through aggression."
The Indian Parliament passed this resolution unanimously on 22nd February 1994. Before presenting it in the house, the speaker said -'Each word and sentence of this resolution has been seriously considered by the government and the leaders of the opposition parties.'
Every party endorsed and passed this. Was that a facade?
Now every word of this resolution is sought to be turned into a joke, a meaningless exercise of some foolish people who pass resolutions just to pass time and earn their allowances.
Some of the Indian journalists and writers who earn name and fame and money for their being an Indian have chosen to advice to 'liberate' Kashmir and not to force Indian 'colonialism' on a people who do not want to be recognized as Indians. It sounds damn good if read in New York and Rome. But what about those who are Kashmiris and patriots and want to live with India? Who still have land and homes in the valley? And they are Muslims too.
Who are the 'people' these worthies have recognized as those who do not want to live with India? Jihadis? Those blood thirsty anti Indians who have been fed on Pakistani money and propaganda to hate Hindus and India and burn tri-colours to make this region a Nizam-e Mustafa , only for the Muslims so that they can share the booty? Like they have been fighting over the question of leadership with each other presently? Mir Waizs and Geelanis and Butts and Muftis and Abdullah's- not a single so-called Muslim leader of the valley, supporting separatism is at peace with another Muslim 'brother in arms'. And now as NSA Narayanan has hinted the separatist leader's murder during a march to Mujaffarabad was a result of an internal clash. But sitting in Delhi and enjoying suspicious hospitalities make some writers to write the junk against the very tricolor that defines their identity on this planet.
The timing and synchronizing of 'Azadi to Kashmir' views is significant. All of them belong to one family of hating anything done by the nationalist activists. The profligacy they have exercised is quite understandable in times like these when India is being ruled under a dispensation that favours western ideas and policies for domestic governance. Amarnath agitation has already taken an unprecedented shape, which they had never visualized. In such a situation, the suggestion to 'liberate' Kashmir has been put forward to demonize Hindus and strengthen the anti- national Islamist agitation in the valley, by those who wield a considerable influence in media and are not Muslims.
If 'liberate' Kashmir chorus is a spontaneous reaction to the demonstrations being held in the valley, why was the massive upsurge of the patriotic people in Jammu not considered at an equal weight and columns written to listen to the voice of India? Why the tricolor people of Jammu are discarded and ignored as a worthless opinion and all hearts go to listen to the foul cries of separatism? And the secularism of such voices gets quite evident when valley newspapers put on headline like these-'Geelani says- Islam and Pakistan central to Kashmir movement' (Kashmir Times, 19th August, 2008).
Those who wont give an inch of their south Delhi -Gurgaon apartments to the neighbor are vexing eloquent to give away Kashmir to blood thirsty terrorists. What is the reason behind the separatism of the valley Muslims? Economic or religious? Economic reasons can be sorted out in a different manner, if they feel they have been deprived of opportunities and financial grants. Surely once in the planning commission's board room, they would discover that the rest of India has genuinely taken less than what it gave to the valley.
Now after 1947, this has become another flashpoint of division just on the basis of religion. We are Muslims, we can't live with a Hindu India, was the war cry of Jinnah's hordes pre '47. It was followed by direct action, Calcutta killings, green flags and finally Gandhi, the Hindu Vaishnav yielded and said, ok, take Pakistan but let's live in peace.
We compromised, our ahimsa was taken as cowardice and we got wars, immediately we had the land partitioned.
Now again, some wizards have tried to create an atmosphere to allow Kashmir's secession for peace. Do they understand it won't end at just Kashmir, but trigger off an avalanche of demands for separate nations from the east to south and later in the west too?
Accept NSCN's demand to have a separate Nagalim ? And ULA's Assam nation? Manipur wants a separate nation too as they claim they didn't celebrate 15th August 1947 as their independence day. Should we tell them to shut up because till now no senior journalist has recommended their freedom? We have a dozen flashpoints waiting to secede and declare freedom. Tamil nation and a Maoist corridor joining Nepal's Reds? There is a fantastic map on the internet declaring a Mugalistan , a complete green Muslim land beginning from Pakistan, including Kashmir and UP's border areas, having already gobbled up Ladakh and Himachal and Uttarakhand and reaching till Assam. One would have just laughed it away if the present valley agitation hasn't ignited treacherously innocent suggestions by writers whom you can't ignore. It takes time to get bad things precipitate enough.
Assam is already in the grip of Bangladeshi Muslims. Whatever you say of secularism or rising above religious fault lines, the truth of the matter is Kashmir is a communal cauldron and so is Assam. It's simply a Hindu Muslim issue, you can ignore only at the cost of national integration. They are fed on political expediencies. Like in Assam the IMDT act was helping foreign infiltrators yet government at the centre didn't revoke it till Supreme Court ruled against it and in spite of that the act was re introduced from the back door.
In Kashmir the people were never allowed to feel as Indians by introducing a separate constitutional provision under article 370 so how can you expect them to behave as Indians?
Delhi's media sultans feel sun will not rise without their approval. They can enjoy the fizz of their arrogance, but the sun rises on its own and maintains its temperature too. I am filing this column from Jammu where people are showing the Indian way of patriotism to the valley. Every street and road is empty unless there is a demonstration. Traders have shuttered down their shops continuously for more than a month. Small entrepreneurs, auto rickshaw drivers, labourers are all off the work. Schools have not opened since last three months as immediately at the fag end of summer vacations the Amarnath Movement began. Banks are closed, sms's are prohibited, no public transport is available, it’s an unimaginable nightmare during any emergency. But who cares?
To feed the citizens city is having free meals (langars) organized at more than fifty points where at an average one lakh people take meals twice a day costing ten lakh rupees per day. Every house hold is giving donations to run such langars without complaint.
But strangely enough, the divide we see between valley and Jammu is reflected between media of Jammu and Delhi too. What Jammu's mainline papers are reporting doesn't get reflected in Delhi's papers and channels who have become self appointed guardians of secularism and peace of their own variety and think if they suppress the factual position on Jammu, peace will be restored soon and communalism will not spread. So when the patriots agitate, its communalism and needs to be suppressed. But when Pakistani flags are hoisted atop Lal Chowk and tricolor burnt amidst chants of Allah O Akbar and Pakistan Paindabad, it has to be reported 'objectively' and with full focus so that the sentiments of separatists are not hurt or suppressed! Strange media ethics these seculars follow.
What son of Devaki won't have tolerated is being allowed by his followers. Isn't it the time to revive his spirit of Geeta and win a war of righteousness? The body alone perishes; the spirit remains immortal, so why fear O Arjuna?
