A RIGHT STEP AT THE RIGHT TIME.I remember when the last year’s summer unrest was at its PEAK it never looked as if the Law that made life of many people miserable will ever be revoked. That was the time when Omar Abdullah went on record to say “ Give me a peaceful summer and I will revoke AFSPA” at that time many including the opposition made fun of the statement saying that he was trying to hoodwink the people. Today, all those who opposed him should have shown some maturity and appreciated this move. Unfortunately, I don’t see a single statement from any of them supporting the Hon. CM and his team for taking such a people friendly decision but on the contrary a Senior opposition leader shamelessly alleges that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was trying to blackmail New Delhi over AFSPA issue and that he has his own personal interest. I have yet to find that personal interest Omar Abdullah has except to make sure that his people are freed from the clutches of this law under which the armed forces are armed with impunity, and their acts are beyond the purviews of the judiciary or the state government. Readers may recall that Omar after forming his government promised that he will revoke AFSPA and even last year he committed that given a peaceful summer he will revoke this law. I guess some opposition leaders still suffer from some form of verbal diarrhoea otherwise why would someone come up with such a bizarre statement that the Hon. CM has some personal interest. Some leaders have this habit of making a statement in the morning only to retract in the evening. It’s for the first time that such a step is being taken; leaders across party lines should come up in favour and support it. Not only the mainstream but the Separatist also should have appreciated this move and in a united voice favoured the revoking of this law, personally never expected them to be so indifferent and silent to such a decision.
The other side of the coin is equally surprising; I’m still trying to understand why the army would be against revoking the AFSPA when they do not operate in any of the four districts mentioned by the media. They have absolutely no role to play in any militant or insurgency related operation in the mentioned areas, so it’s totally unfair of them to oppose just because conventionally it has been so. They have done their job so meticulously that no right thinking person would ever forget their contribution. In a democratic setup every one has a right to their views but in case of the army it’s so surprising to see an institution which has brought laurels to the country opposing such a people friendly move. You can’t have different yard sticks for similar people. You had close to around a million odd tourists visiting Kashmir this year for vacation and If this is not an indication that things have improved I wonder what it. I have yet to come across any tourist who would visit a place which is not safe; I feel it’s time for some retrospection. One should understand that here is a Chief Minster who against all odds wants to revoke a law which at many times has been used against innocent people. These armed forces are armed with impunity under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, and their acts are beyond the purviews of the judiciary or the state government. Everyone who believes in democracy and the rights of a common man should cut across party ideology and affiliation and support the decision of Omar Abdullah.
Some people may think demanding repeal of AFSPA gets them the shame of sympathizing with the insurgents and thereby making themselves unpopular among the people in India. Some politicians, when they do not dig into the subject may not like to risk their career by getting into controversies. These fears are far from reality and are unfounded. A politician with some amount of social and political commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir should spare some time to study the ill effects of AFSPA and I am sure this will help them to free themselves from these fears and lead the movement to bring lasting peace to this trouble torn region. There is a new hope that the region will see a new era of peace and cooperation.
Give me peace and I will revoke this law was what Omar Abdullah had promised. The state is much peaceful and some semblance of normalcy is visible everywhere. The Hon. CM fulfilled his promise when he announced that he will revoke this law before the Durbar Move reopens. Credibility is the virtue that people judge their leaders from. We haven’t had a leader all these years who would so fearlessly express himself. The decision of Omar Abdullah in revoking the draconian law should be treated more as a movement to help people live a better life, a life of peace, dignity, progress, and not against any individual or an institution. We live in free India and if we can’t raise a voice against the happenings around us we hardly live. I am sure in days to come sanity will prevail among people who have reservations against lifting of this law and they will understand that it’s a step towards a peaceful and prosperous Kashmir. For all those people who dream of a peaceful and Naya Kashmir then this is just a beginning of whole lot of CBM’s that will unfold in times to come. If you are a Kashmiri, this should be one of those proud moments we all always waited for.
