Kashmir – The Misery is not over yet

Pic Credit: Telegraph

Almost two months ago, government abrogated Article 370 and 35A. The whole world has been waiting to see when the curfew would be lifted and when the politician would be freed. The Indian government has not released political leaders. There is still no internet, no businesses, no shops open and obviously no freedom to travel.

Like everyone, I am also curious that what would happen next?

Through this blog post, I want to highlight key events that happened after August 5th. If you think that Pakistanis are a real friend of Kashmir, then read this article from a Pakistani national. 

Pakistan cut all the ties with India- 5th-10th August

Pakistan cut bilateral Trade, Railways, Buses and Diplomatic ties with India by August 10th. Pakistan’s government called the ruling party of India as fascist. 

The change wouldn’t have huge impact on India because India could divert the export of some of the existing traded items to other countries but it would be tough and costly for Pakistan to import.

Tear Gas, Pellet Guns and Many citizens jailed- 10-20th August

The army didn’t show any mercy toward the protesters and bombarded with tear gas, pellet guns, and many citizens were taken off the road and pushed to the jail (~4000). However, Government toned down some of the restrictions. It was a quite EID celebration in the Kashmir. There were reports of many young citizens of Kashmir hit by pellet guns which is true. The government officially released the statement regarding this. But so far no one has died because of the army yet. According to reports from GoI, more than 4000 people have detained and has been under arrest so far under the Public Safety Act.

Modi justifying the abrogation of Article 370 on Independence day- 15th August

It’s an irony that after 70 years of independence, the people of Kashmir are still living under curfew and they feel that they are not independent. And, the government started working toward “normalcy’. Many activists reached out to the government to remove the curfew and bring back the communication

UNSC meeting on Kashmir-16th August

Pakistan managed to convince UNSC to hold a meeting on Kashmir and review the humanitarian situation in Kashmir and push India toward lifting the curfew. But the effort went in vain and there was no joint consensus. Hence, UNSC didn’t release any information to the media.

Progress so far– India already started restoring the landline phone services in Jammu and certain regions of Kashmir. The government also set up many phone booths to ensure that citizens can talk to their relatives in many parts of the world.

G7 Summit and Kashmir Talk on world forum- 24-28th August

Modi met world leaders on the sideline of G7 to discuss trade-related issues. But he gets caught under so many questions from other countries and organizations. However, the US, UK, and France mentioned that Kashmir is a bilateral issue so they don’t want to intervene. Imran Khan wrote an article in NYT to gain some global sympathy

All Landlines across J&K restored – 6th September

All landlines were restored but some of them were not working. people were queuing up to call their relatives as soon as possible. People started coming out of their houses to call and meet with each other. Meanwhile, Pakistanis carried out rallies in Karachi and blocked POK’s people to hold a march against Pakistan. Everyone was becoming restless as it was difficult to imagine the next best thing.

Modi awarded by UAE,  Bahrain and Bill Gates Foundation-September

Protest from Kashmiris continues- 10th-15th September

There was never a second thought that Kashmiris wouldn’t be protesting. So, in the last 1 month, there were many protests from locals but most of the protests were not covered due to lack of media or informed by the Indian army. The effect of lockdown started showing in real terms as most of the apple farmers were struggling to sell it and get good rates. Most of the apple growers feared to lose their relationship with the current dealers across other parts of the country.

Pakistan started an anti-India campaign in UNGA -20th-27th Sep

Everyone in India is aware of the fact that there were/are human right violation happening in valleys but it’s better for everyone to wait and watch because the Kashmir issue can’t be solved by aggression as Imran Khan thinks. Pakistan supported fake narratives around Kashmir in Newyork. 

Political Leaders started getting out of detention center- 1st-6th October

Indian government started releasing political leaders from J&K and some of the leaders of NC met Farooq Abdullah at his residence and former CM showed the rare smile on his face. 

The Indian government released almost all of the leaders from Jammu however there was fear to release all leaders from Kashmir. The leaders needed to sign an agreement that they wouldn’t create any problem in peace.

Tourists are now welcomed – 7th October

Another positive news came out after 2 months, The government decided to lift the ban on tourism so that citizens can start earning money by renting their shikara and other business.

But not many Kashmiris came out of the office to support the government. Most of the shops are still closed and only 20% of students are in college in Kashmir.

Postpaid Mobile Connection is back- 14th October

The government provided a huge relieve to almost 40 Lakhs citizens by activating the postpaid mobile service. This will also help the tourist, Media people and other government officials to communicate in the state.

So far, there is no huge protest by citizens and lives have started rolling in Kashmir. Citizens have started going on their normal schedule but more information is yet to come from the Kashmir. The government abolished the Legislative Council on 18th October. 

Let’s pray and hope for Indians living in J&K to feel safe and live in peace and prosperity. The government should immediately lift any restriction to gain the faith of citizens.

Kashmir- The endless stories of crisis

The above picture was clicked by my brother when we were on Dal Lake. The trip to Kashmir is still one of the most memorable trips in my life. I wrote about the morning in my post almost 5 years ago. I am sure that the morning wouldn’t have changed a lot in the valley but the grip of uncertainty has definitely emerged as a sense of fear among Kashmiris these days. I am dedicating this post to the people of Kashmir who showed me the beautiful Dal Lake, Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, Gulmarg, and Shankracharya Mandir. 

My Experience as a Tourist at Lal Chowk

I would like to start the post with one incident during my visit. I wished to have Kashmiri Pulao and Lamb to our driver. So, he took us to a famous restaurant near Lal Chowk. After entering the restaurant, we noticed that everyone was looking at the TV on the wall. There was a cricket match going on live. The match was between Zimbabwe vs. Pakistan. And, everyone was cheering up for Pakistan on a loud voice. This was my first experience to see what I read in the news/articles that few “Kashmiris supports Pakistan” and Here it is in front of my eyes. Food came and we silently finished it and left the restaurant. I hardly spoke about this incident to many people. But it was an experience to see what was going on there.

Endless Crisis for many lives

Kashmiris are facing much crisis in one life. Terrorism, Poverty, No Health system, Not good education and only a few jobs. Many youths of Kashmir are scared of Indian soldiers. They get beaten by them on and off and it’s taking a toll on their patriotism toward India.

The decision to abrogate Article 370 has rocked the state of J&K from top to bottom. It’s definitely a crisis situation in the life of Kashmiris. The Article bonded the Kashmiris with the Government of India that they have a special place in the constitution of India. But everyone is asking the same question- Is it unfair to them, if yes then why and How?

Why does BJP insist to revoke Article 370? 

Some people may say that Revoking Article 370 was one of the ideas of founding the father of BJP- Shayma Prasad Mukherjee who was once a minister in Nehru’s Government. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee left the Nehru’s ministry after falling out on Article 370 & J-K in 1951 and then founded Bhartiya Jana Sangh which is now Bhartiya Janta Party. So, It is right to say that BJP is still listening to their founding fathers’ ideology and the result is in front of us.

Is it unfair to Kashmiris to revoke article 370? 

Yes. It is unfair for them as it was a promise made to them. You can’t break a promise without talking to people. The abrogation may bring more Anti-India sentiment which will continue for another generation. The encounter of Burhan Wani showed that Kashmiris don’t trust the government. Government of India and J&k has failed miserably to gain the confidence of the local people even after 70 years. There might be many Kashmiris feel safe in India but these kinds of things will probably put the trust back to where it was. Forget about asking the people, It would be fair to discuss the idea with the representatives of Kashmiris.

Will the revoking of Article  370 help Kashmiris? 

There is uncertainty here to talk about. There won’t be major changes in the next few years in the social life of Kashmiris but the effect could be seen in the coming decades.

• Most of the Kashmiris don’t want to leave the place even though they have a better opportunity to study outside Kashmir. The reservation in jobs and education may improve the status of lower-class Muslims. These Muslims often get money for Stone Pelting from the separatist politicians.
• Kashmiris are dependent upon tourism a lot. Central Government may chart out better tourism policies to benefit the people of Kashmir.
• It is true that the lack of Non-traditional local businesses are hurting the youth of Kashmir as they are not getting a better livelihood. Central Government can, now, set up industries and bring more employment.

What could be the result of this change? 

Result of this change will be drastic. Especially, the change in the demographics of the State. The valley has the majority of the Islamic population so an influx of people of other religion will change the region culturally. When Islam came to Kashmir almost 700 years ago, it changed the region and many Hindus were forcefully converted to Islam. The education system will certainly improve along with the socio-economic condition.

Why is Pakistan crying about this whole issue? 

There are several reasons behind the crying of Pakistan.

• Pakistan has funded many separatist leaders who employ many youths for stone-pelting, If these youth gets a decent job then they won’t work for separatist
• Pakistan has a fear that many Muslims will change their mind if the valley becomes prosperous and Muslims will start going with the Indian government
• Dilution of religion is also one of the major concern of Pakistan who thinks that many Hindus will start migrating to Kashmir and that will change the rights of Kashmiris

It’s disheartening to see how Kashmiris are getting sandwiched India and Pakistan. Kashmiris people have suffered a lot so far in the last 700 years. We only wish prosperous life in the valley and support the Kashmiris.

That one Kashmiri Morning on House Boat

It has been almost 3 years now when I took a deep breathe of those oxygen molecules that remains trapped in valley but give life to the most beautiful places in this world… Yeaah. It is .Kashmir – The beauty and pride of Indian Tourism Industry.

There are so many moments of that trip I would like to cherish in my heart forever. I can’t express how exciting it was when we decided to visit “Paradise on the earth” after taking blessings from the goddess Durga at “Vaisno Devi temple“.  The journey through Peer-Panjal range of mountains on car was really a thrilling one. After Passing through edges of mountainous road, stopping at dhaba to eat Rajma-Chawal, clicking photos of waterfalls on the way, We realized that our car entered in to a long tunnel. That was the longest tunnel of India i.e. Jawahar Surang.

 

The yellow-red sky and a smell of saffron were enough to sense that you were in the valley.  You could easily sense the beauty of valley in the sky and its surroundings. I stopped winking my eye lids so that i could capture a serene scene of valley from Titanic View Point.  It is one of the point from top of the hill from where you can see the whole valley. It was once in a life moment. After having that glimpse of valley, our car moved toward the paradise.

Morning View of Dal Lake from a House Boat

It was around 5:30 am when I woke up that morning and walked to the beautiful garden on my houseboat where I spent the last night. As soon as I came out in the garden, my eyes went on to rose flower and my ears felt relax from the mesmerizing chant of “Gayatri Mantra“. And then I looked to the view in front of my eyes and that’s when I captured the above picture from my precious Blackberry which is no more with me. But I pay tribute to it by mentioning over here. 🙂

The scenic beauty of Dal Lake, chirping of birds, sound of Gayatri Mantra, the fresh air and only thyself, were enough to make this moment immortal. The water of Dal Lake was so calm and still and you can easily see the green algae at the bottom surface. The stunning beauty of Dal lake in the above picture itself explains the mood of the nature. The lotus was appraising the beauty of Dal Lake while the white  birds were walking on the Dal Lake to reach their pray.

I took the above photo by looking at the peak where Shankracharya temple is situated. It was one of the mornings of my life that will remain fresh until i will take my last breathe to my lungs. The whole valley was engulfed in the divine enchantment of Gayatri Mantra. The origin of this sacred prayer was Shankracharya Temple. It is only temple in whole valley.

Whenever I close my eyes to think about peace, this tranquilize moment pops up at the top and  feel relax. It was a not to be forgotten feeling which will remain close to my heart.

I suggest you all to experience it at least once in your life time and if you have any thought of it feel free to use comment box.
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