BY:Rayees Masroor
“We want to take you to the International Criminal Court, right now!”, “You, your father and grandfather are all war criminals”- This is how the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah was welcomed at the University of California, Berkeley. In a video clip that has gone viral in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah is seen stalled by Kashmiri-American protesters.
This heckling of a senior politician and a former chief minister seems indecent but at the same time many people believe that the voice of the common Kashmiris has been choked and there is hardly any space provided to the young Kashmiris to express themselves that is also revalidated by the fact that instead of condemning such attitude at a reputed University, many Kashmiri nitizens on various social media platforms have supported it. There was already an online campaign going on against the university for inviting omar as a representative of Kashmiri people.
One of the conclusions drawn from this episode is clear that lot of water has flown and the young generation of educated modern Kashmiris is no longer interested in being misrepresented in the garb of representation. What could have been worse than the statement of NC spokespersons who said that the protestors were ‘ISI men’. This statement is drawing another volley of criticism which is seriously merits.
Though one shouldn’t and mustn’t approve of what happened at the university, but given the muddled political scenario in Kashmir, the mainstream as well as separatist politicians should realize that the young generation of Kashmir understands the world political discourses and also knows that false promises, hollow slogans and the absence of a sincere political voice has costs the state dearly.
Take for instance the ‘greater autonomy’ slogan of NC which seems far from reality and the autonomy resolution passed by State legislature under NC regime has already been thrown in the dustbin. The slogans of self rule have turned out to be a facade and all these people are seen as extensions of mainland India and the mouth pieces of the central government. It is highly relevant to mention that during the tenure of Omar Abdullah, hundreds of Kashmiri civilians lost their lives to police and paramilitary firings. In 2010 civilian protests which were repressed through the brutal use of overwhelming police and paramilitary violence, over 100 young boys were killed, thousands of youth were arrested and tortured in jails.
This incident of heckling could be attributed to that and all mainstream leaders should introspect and it is high time for them to revisit their narrative because not many people seem interested in their seemingly failed narrative anymore. The common perception is that New Delhi rather being flexible and interested in comprehensive dialogue has shown rigidity and disregard to the popular sentiment on the ground. Heckling a political leader, bunking the classes for protests or even giving up the studies and picking up the gun is the sheer frustration of the Kashmiri youth against the status quo.
The mainstream camp has miserably failed in convincing New Delhi to initiate dialogue with all stake holders to address the core issue of Kashmir. It’s not only the question of these Kashmiri students taking on a former chief minister but since the beginning of the academic session in March students in Kashmir have been on roads most of the time and this is an alarming trend.
The mainstream camp regardless of their narrative or ideology should understand that they are not seen as the representatives of Kashmiri people but rather representing New Delhi and masquerading as protectors of the common people. Many political thinkers believe that they are seen as cultivated leaders of Delhi only to represent India in Kashmir.
Rayeesmasroor111@gmail.com
