The day before our departure, we had the privilege and pleasure to visit two villages, closer to Srinagar. Our students hail from those villages. Power was non-existent in the late afternoon for charging over cell phone. My youngest daughter, having learnt spoken Hindi by watching television over the years, gave sufficient power to conversation and made Kashmiri innocents, both old and young more lively. Village people are more affectionate, hospitable and innocent; with the exception of a few educated youngsters who think about career growth in Greater India or at Kashmir, others have their own dreams, i.e. Homeland of Kashmir. I didn’t want to dampen their spirit and enthusiasm and say that it was an impossibility theorem, as things stand today, given the international power politics. I could sense some smell that they are feeling disturbed being militarily occupied in select places and I am not sure in what way the nature and content of militancy has changed over time and which group is the best representative of voice of descent and change.
In the evening we reached another family in a different village, two times the power went off while taking dinner. Fortunately they had prepared themselves for this kind of eventuality. In many villages the power supply is very thin like a poverty stricken child and only low voltage bulb could work. There is something fundamentally wrong in the way in which the power distribution is managed by the powers in Delhi. As drinking water is scarce in Sirapunji, in Assam, the region which experiences the highest rainfall, power supply is scarce and non-existent in Kashmir valley which produces sufficient hydroelectric power given its abundant water resources.
I am confident that better sense will prevail on both sides, first to respect each other and then love; military presence will be a nuisance and that cannot generate trust but strengthen alienation. Indeed, if the advantages of staying with India, as a part of its political and monetary union are fully visible in a more tangible fashion and get inculcated in the molecules of brains of Kashmiris and atomic particles of Kashmir soil, then only, the gravitational pull towards militants would cease. By colour, height, facial facts, language, ethnicity, culture and so on, it is not just Kashmiris alone but many other regional populations, have their distinct identity, aspirations and dreams. Perhaps Kashmir will be more distinct and special than others. It is left to central leadership and state level consolidation to generate more development and provide more autonomy so that the Kashmiris will have the sense of satisfaction. Separatism must be the measure of last resort. A jewel like Kashmir, no nation will be willing to part and give it as a gift and walk away in a gentle manly fashion, however genuine the demand for homeland.
All over the world we see, many with their legitimate claim for their self determination, having been persecuted, humbled and humiliated beyond recognition and repair, they still suffer silently without any hope or redemptions for their salvation. It is time Kashmir saw the ground level reality. There are many who are suffering more in the world thinking about those people without their nations, you get some solace and satisfaction that life is still tolerable and manageable.
The Kashmir region must assert itself for its legitimate rights. Shall we start from Kashmir in demanding more infrastructures, better and adequate infrastructure in making the valley a real paradise on earth? Kashmir just does not belong to India alone or to Kashmiris, it belongs to entire world. While writing this line, the power goes off at Pondicherry; 10’o clock forenoon summer heat will soon suffocate me. I have stopped writing now. Without electric fan I cannot work at home. Be happy Kashmiris, Bangalorians, your states are air conditioned by God and you can manage during day time. But night will be horrible without power. I had seen and experienced it in those two villages even while the weather is chill and pleasant. Let Delhi Government understand that only after fulfilling/satisfying the minimum requirements of Kashmir with regard to power, the rest should be transmitted to other regions. This kind of gestures will open a new vista of channel of communication and help draw a road map for a better and secured development of Kashmir. It is not just Kashmir, there are many troubled zones where the livelihood of poor people are threatened in the name of development, exploiting natural resources for industrial development. There is a firm resistance from tribal populations in many poor states against this kind of change as they are deprived of their sustenance of life and the very existence itself. It is ridiculous to talk about youth empowerment, democracy, BPO economy in the shining India and so on when majority of tribal, educated youth, children and elderly population do not feel at home in their own country.
In the evening we reached another family in a different village, two times the power went off while taking dinner. Fortunately they had prepared themselves for this kind of eventuality. In many villages the power supply is very thin like a poverty stricken child and only low voltage bulb could work. There is something fundamentally wrong in the way in which the power distribution is managed by the powers in Delhi. As drinking water is scarce in Sirapunji, in Assam, the region which experiences the highest rainfall, power supply is scarce and non-existent in Kashmir valley which produces sufficient hydroelectric power given its abundant water resources.
I am confident that better sense will prevail on both sides, first to respect each other and then love; military presence will be a nuisance and that cannot generate trust but strengthen alienation. Indeed, if the advantages of staying with India, as a part of its political and monetary union are fully visible in a more tangible fashion and get inculcated in the molecules of brains of Kashmiris and atomic particles of Kashmir soil, then only, the gravitational pull towards militants would cease. By colour, height, facial facts, language, ethnicity, culture and so on, it is not just Kashmiris alone but many other regional populations, have their distinct identity, aspirations and dreams. Perhaps Kashmir will be more distinct and special than others. It is left to central leadership and state level consolidation to generate more development and provide more autonomy so that the Kashmiris will have the sense of satisfaction. Separatism must be the measure of last resort. A jewel like Kashmir, no nation will be willing to part and give it as a gift and walk away in a gentle manly fashion, however genuine the demand for homeland.
All over the world we see, many with their legitimate claim for their self determination, having been persecuted, humbled and humiliated beyond recognition and repair, they still suffer silently without any hope or redemptions for their salvation. It is time Kashmir saw the ground level reality. There are many who are suffering more in the world thinking about those people without their nations, you get some solace and satisfaction that life is still tolerable and manageable.
The Kashmir region must assert itself for its legitimate rights. Shall we start from Kashmir in demanding more infrastructures, better and adequate infrastructure in making the valley a real paradise on earth? Kashmir just does not belong to India alone or to Kashmiris, it belongs to entire world. While writing this line, the power goes off at Pondicherry; 10’o clock forenoon summer heat will soon suffocate me. I have stopped writing now. Without electric fan I cannot work at home. Be happy Kashmiris, Bangalorians, your states are air conditioned by God and you can manage during day time. But night will be horrible without power. I had seen and experienced it in those two villages even while the weather is chill and pleasant. Let Delhi Government understand that only after fulfilling/satisfying the minimum requirements of Kashmir with regard to power, the rest should be transmitted to other regions. This kind of gestures will open a new vista of channel of communication and help draw a road map for a better and secured development of Kashmir. It is not just Kashmir, there are many troubled zones where the livelihood of poor people are threatened in the name of development, exploiting natural resources for industrial development. There is a firm resistance from tribal populations in many poor states against this kind of change as they are deprived of their sustenance of life and the very existence itself. It is ridiculous to talk about youth empowerment, democracy, BPO economy in the shining India and so on when majority of tribal, educated youth, children and elderly population do not feel at home in their own country.
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