Why I wrote Kashmir: Dawn of a New Era

 

Why I wrote Kashmir: Dawn of a New Era.

In 2016, I came out with my first book on Kashmir titled, Kashmir: Towards Demilitarisation. As the name suggests, the object was to recommend a reduction in the numbers of uniformed personnel deployed in the Kashmir Valley without compromising on national security; the underlying idea being that projecting a sense of normalcy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir would not be convincing in the presence of an excessive and overbearing number of service personnel. The book was generally well received, as the actions taken by the government in the subsequent years indicated.

Thereafter, I undertook the writing of a kind of sequel to the original to evaluate what had been achieved by the government and to recommend further steps if any. However, the initiatives of the Modi government post 2016 caught everyone, including myself, by surprise at their sheer audacity and gumption. Actions like the surgical strikes, bifurcation of the state into 2 Union Territories, abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, and the delimitation exercise were till then mere points of debate, because no one seriously expected that any government would have the nerve to undertake such monumental steps and that too within such a short period. So, the publication of the sequel kept getting delayed because by the time I would finish analysing the latest action of the Modi government, we would be presented with another rabbit out of the hat.

When I had for all intents finished the book, in March 2022 the movie, “The Kashmir Files” was released. It generated an intense nation-wide debate and renewed interest in the Kashmir situation particularly on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. There is no denying that the film is factual and based on incidents which happened during the period 1989-90. Expectedly, the release of the film stirred a hornet's nest. There was angry finger pointing from both sides of the spectrum; one side claiming that the film mentioned only a small fraction of the number of incidents of rape, torture and killings that happened and the other side claiming that what was depicted was pure fiction.

I was posted in Srinagar during 1989-90. Until then I had no intention in putting on paper what I was witness to during that fateful period. Both sides have conveyed their version of what transpired during those traumatic times, through books like “Curfewed Nights” by Basharat Peer and “Our Moon has Blood Clots” by Rahul Pandita. What, however, shocked me during conversation with my children and other members of their generation was the question, “Did all this really happen?” I realised that even they were falling prey to the negative propaganda being spread about the around the film and the incidents depicted therein. When I was questioned on the veracity of the incidents mentioned in the film by the very person who had lived through it, I decided that it was time to put on paper what I was witness to. In early February 1990, a school bus carrying children, including my daughter, was attacked by an angry mob of hundreds. They were only able to escape unhurt because of the timely action of the protection party which had to resort to firing to enable them to extricate the bus and save the children. The children hid under the seats cowering in fear and came home highly traumatised. But such is the wonder of the juvenile mind that it can forget such experiences with the passage of time and carry on with a normal life! That prompted me to add the chapter which I titled, “My” Kashmir Files’ and put on record my impressions and experiences of that eventful period in recent Kashmiri history.

Having strayed from the original aim of the book, I then decided to venture into the social scene and comment on issues which are not directly linked with military or police aspects. Hence the chapter on Kashmiriyat, which I have titled ‘W(h)ither Kashmiriyat?’ The letter ‘h’ in Whither has been put in brackets questioning whether the concept of Kashmiriyat is headed for a total demise or, provided humanity prevails, whether it will chart a new direction, because changed circumstances have ensured that Kashmiriyat as understood earlier can no longer have the same characteristics.

I wrote with no rancour in my heart. Intense hatred is a wasted emotion. It consumes the soul and prevents the evolution of the mind. What are we looking for now? Revenge or rehabilitation. The latter, obviously, but on fair and acceptable terms. There is bound to be another exodus, but not yet. Maybe a hundred years hence. For now, we have to re-populate the Valley in sizeable numbers, not in our original homes, but to any place identified and allocated to us by the government and with the tacit support of the majority community, otherwise we will always be a target. These and other issues are what I have touched upon in ‘W(h)ither Kashmiriyat?’

For now I’m signing off, but will be back regularly to address questions that have been put to me, particularly by the younger generation of my community.