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Two ends of a spectrum

Kashmir Times. Dated: 4/25/2017 11:15:14 AM

Modi's assurance on Kashmiri students in other states is not enough, there is a far bigger component of distress in the Valley

Prime minister Narendra Modi's assurance to Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's on her plea to reach out to Kashmiri students studying in various parts of India is a welcome step. Much, however, will depend on his ability to translate such an assurance into action. Ever since the valley erupted over the question of forcible entry of security forces inside college campuses and the killing of a college student by police during college protests in Pulwama, the vulnerability of the Kashmiri students outside the state has increased. Two Kashmiri students were assaulted in Rajasthan's Mewar, and a research scholar was threatened in BITS Pilani. A hoarding had come up in Meerut asking Kashmiris to leave Uttar Pradesh. Earlier this month, the J&K government had to intervene in the case of a 20-year-old Kashmiri woman studying in Pune who was arrested for allegedly abusing and assaulting police. The woman, however, claimed that she and her friend were assaulted by the police personnel. The problem of Kashmiri students facing the backlash of jingoistic ultra-nationalism across the country has been existing for several years and successive state governments in the past have taken up this concern with New Delhi and the latter has responded with half-hearted attempts. The cases of assaults on Kashmiri students and alleged discrimination have increased in recent years, instead. It is too early to presume that this assurance from Modi too would follow the same pattern. While it is hoped he would walk his talk, his assurance is in complete discordance with his party's minister in Mehbooba's cabinet, who recently advocated bullet for stone policy for young protestors in Kashmir. After Industries minister, Ganga Prakash drew flak from BJP's alliance partner in the state, he backtracked from his remarks. No senior member of the party has sought to make any clarifications with respect to his remarks; much less the prime minister who is known to maintain abject silence over rabidly vitriolic remarks and actions of his own partymen. However, the words highlight the wide gap existing between the two alliance partners which have been pulling in two different directions ever since the alliance was formed despite the carefully drafted Agenda of Alliance, implementation of which is either too tardy or yet to begin. One of the main points of this agenda was to reach out to all sections of Jammu and Kashmir and to engage them in a dialogue. Far from building a conducive atmosphere to this end, PDP's feeble efforts to ease the restrictions in Kashmir Valley and provide some relief in terms of release of prisoners have not gone down too well with its alliance partner; in some cases the Centre has also shot down the PDP's proposals. Whether such frictions have forced PDP to keep itself in line with His Master's voice in Delhi or whether irrespective of such differences, it continues to operate with inconsistency, complacency and inefficiency, the fact is that the government is losing its grip over Kashmir.
Reaching out to Kashmiri students vulnerable in other parts of the country is only one a very small dimension of the issue. This too cannot be addressed without addressing the deep rooted prejudices and the parochial majoritarian mindset in the country, much of which is reinforced by the Centre including the prime minister, BJP leaders and the other offshoots of the RSS. Besides, much of the problem exists inside the Valley. History is testimony to the fact that New Delhi has always had the upper hand in taking decisions on the politics and economy of the state and state government that do not enjoy the favour of the Centre do not last long. However, such facts do not entirely make the state government irrelevant. The state government has a direct responsibility to the people and it can keep under check many of the influences that hamper the political, social and economic atmosphere of the state with their own competence. This seems to be clearly lacking in the present case. While the state government has reached out to the prime minister for coming to the rescue of Kashmiri students outside the state, within the Valley, it has been constantly patronizing brutalizing the student community, further fortifying the campuses of educational institutions and turning them into military and even legitimized brutal action by police and security forces on protestors, most of whom are students and youth. There is little leverage that the state government has at its disposal at the end of the day but the moot question is whether the optimum potential of this small space and scope has been ably used? The answer is an emphatic no. Had the government managed to get an assurance from the prime minister on the need for reaching out to the Kashmiri students and youth within the Valley, followed by its meaningful implementation, it may have been a different case.