DIALOG THE ONLY SOLUTION

This write up of mine was published in one of the prestigious newpaper

The Greater Kashmir

Nobody wants a war or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so, without being clear in our minds we intend to achieve something but eventually lose every thing. It is a principle that has often been seen never more so than in the conflict of Kashmir for the last 18 years. But it is clear that the response to such challenges has not exhibited the clarity of aim. Muddle and hesitation, misguided compromise with the perpetrators of atrocities and the initiators of conflicts, seesaws of public opinion, and dissent among various political parties have marked the down fall of many nations and in our case the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It can be argued that those who win wars do so because they have a better understanding of both the past and the future than their opponents. To draw out the threads that connect the struggles of recent years is thus not only interesting, but may be vital. After Kargil war, one of the most important lessons to be learned that in 21st century wars are never a solution. Kashmir is a debatable subject which can only be addressed by a dialogue. Kashmir has all along seen people taking about Peace and in this context a debate or a dialogue has a lot of relevance.
Dialogue or a debate There are many human needs that people have and these needs are often the cause of unnecessary conflict or the escalation of a small dispute because one of the two parties does not realize that they are not meeting the others needs. During interpersonal communication, the other person has a need for you to listen to their ideas and to acknowledge them. The need to be heard also goes with the need to express one’s inner feelings without the fear of evaluation, judgment, or reprisal for making it known. Had the issue of Kashmir been discussed in its inception may be the hundred thousand lives we lost would have been saved.
Independence of Expression Autonomy is a basic human need. We hate to be forced to do anything without a say or choice in the matter and many of us will resist or defy just based on not having a say in the matter. Parents are the best experts on this need. When we tell our child to go to bed or to brush their teeth, or to eat their vegetables, or take their medicine, what is the response? “No” It’s not so much that they don’t disagree with the decision, but merely that they want to exert their own independence and free-will into the process. As adults, we are no different; we’ve just found more creative ways to articulate “No.” In this part of the world killings of political activists are very unfortunate, You tend to forget that we are discouraging the future policy makers of our nations therefore we fail to attract people with impeccable charter to join politics for the fear of being labeled or killed.
Accountably and free will Realize that everyone has a curious nature. It is programmed in us. Once our interest is sparked by something, we usually can’t leave it alone until we get a satisfactory answer on it. Therefore if we shut someone down with a position that offers no explanation or reason, then this will create resistance and resentment. Bureaucrats and authority figures often get into the bad habit of telling people that nothing can be done because “its policy” or “its the law.” This shuts them down without offering an explanation to them that satisfies their need. Their only recourse then is to take it out onto the person by making them the villain. These few reasons will find a lot of merit in the conflict of Jammu and Kashmir. Even in the so called Modern world, the Americans feel that conflicts can be solved by its army. The institutional obstinacy of the armed forces has reinforced by the huge insensitivity of politicians which add to the casualties of Humans. And they are subject to unremitting attention from the media, intensifying the public expectation that the military campaign will bring swift results without serious casualties among the forces employed or among civilians in the area of operations.. The British had found a ‘secret weapon’ in the ‘combination of insistence on the arms embargo with a military presence to protect humanitarian aid’. It was a combination that froze Western policy in IRAQ to the worst possible posture. Two things that gave India the edge, for a while. First, Being the largest Democracy, it played its “Democracy Card” very well. Second, Western policy helped them enormously, helping them politically to showdown the uprising in Kashmir and make it look like “Terrorism “. Both Manmohan and Musharraf, the contributors to The Peace Process should quote the same passage, that points clearly toward the need to understand the nature of the conflicts into which peoples and nations are put first. Misunderstanding the conflict and you will fight the wrong war, fight when you should not fight at all, or fail to fight when that is the only right course. The Indian’s and pakis exhibit all three possibilities, and the conflict that began 50 years back carries the same potential for error, But with a Huge rider that the stakes today are even higher.

The Kashmiri Youth -

Today’s youth has only seen strife, death, destruction and pain but still yearns for peace .
It is an exciting time to be alive! I have personally spoken with many who lost their dear ones during the 13-years of tumult but they all seem to echo the same chorus: "Enough is enough let peace be given a chance." Though everyone agrees that it should be ‘youth specific’. We know for sure that today’s young generation wants to play a positive role in extricating the State from the intractable quagmire created by the power hungry political wolves of yesterday and carry it to an era of prosperity and peace .
With each new scene of Killing in Kashmir, outrage has intensified against the paramilitary forces, raising the prospect of a backlash and washing all gains made towards peace and prosperity. Although the prime Minister has urged the forces to use restraint, the Chief minister has strongly defended the military retaliation as a reasonable response to attacks, a position increasingly at odds with the political parties that see a deadly overreaction. It seems that if the killing and atrocities drag on, as appears likely, it could leave India more isolated than at any time since the tumult began 17 years ago. In the long run the situation could cement the perception that India is so Anti-Kashmiri that a new generation of youth will grow up perceiving Indians as enemies. Some of the overheated rhetoric that we’ve lost our leadership in the world, is just completely ridiculous, I personally feel that the present politicians comprising of leaders like Omar Abdullah, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq , Sajad Lone are genuinely committed to find a solution that lasts. They all have a very straight forward attitude and have the courage to call a spade a spade. They have certain credibility among the people and they cannot afford to squander. Gone are the days when a leader would feed the audience with slogans or utopian dreams. People want results now and they don’t have the patience to wait until tomorrow. As they say, things happen when they have to happen. Could it be that Providence desires the youth to bring about a revival of what has been destroyed?. According to the present configuration of our population we have 60% in the age group up to 30, around 30% in their 50s and the remaining 10% in the age group of 60 or above. In the past it is generally the later 10% that has held the reins and created a mess partly because of a rusty mindset or partly because they don’t understand the global compulsions. Comparing today’s youth with their parents when they were young or their grandparents when they were children, the lives of today’s youth have become more and more circumscribed. The constant social pressures and daily killings have made it impossible to socialize. We have lost our individual life and become virtual prisoners within our homes putting a stop on all physical activity. We live in a selfish place where we talk for the sake of talking ? We usually don’t write about something that brings laurels to this part of the world instead we go on writing against issues that are good for many but disliked by few. Our current paradigm for Kashmir issue is much like an entertainment show. We come in to a comfortable auditorium and watch others do the ‘Drama.’ And when it finishes, we clap and leave. So we have to start now, Kashmir is our problem and we have to find out an acceptable solution. Why can’t all our leaders of all shades of opinion come on one stage and then arrive at an agreeable solution? Unless all the political parties, repeat ALL, converge on a solution you will continue finding faults with PDP, APHC,NC and vice versa. I think we have reached a stage where we don’t want to see Kashmir turning into another Iraq, Afghanistan or Lebanon
There seems to be recognition worldwide now that today’s youth is better informed, is highly focused and productive and is better suited to deal with the problems around him. There is a greater realization with the youth of today that worldwide they sow the seeds but the harvest goes to a generation that only makes speeches. There is a resolve that it is he who has to decide his future and a world he wants to live in. In this new world order no one can afford to ignore the aspirations of youth and its dreams. Today’s youth has only seen strife, death, destruction and pain. It is ONLY the youth that has been used as fodder. How many people in their 60s have lost their lives? The bottom-line is that today’s youth wants PEACE. The entire Kashmir leadership has a moral obligation not to allow the peace loving people to become hostages of enemies of peace. In a vibrant democracy, people throw up new leaders. They don’t have to be thrust on the people. That way we can take pride that we who are discussing the Kashmir imbroglio here belong to a generation that does not have much of excess baggage on our shoulders. We were not a witness to the partition holocaust or the partition itself. We have only been experiencing the pain and suffering that the partition brought to the entire region.And Finally, The momentum is on, now is the time to be futuristic in our approach and believe in the concept of, “Give and Take”, we cannot dictate terms to countries like India or Pakistan but we can be flexible and with a united approach, we can help in the process of Confidence Building Measures to lead to an ultimate solution of Kashmir, of the both sides. But Youth cannot and should not be ignored