Rival discourses on Kashmir could spin off a spiral of violence and hate

A chasm has opened between two opposing discourses on what is happening in Kashmir. This chasm must be bridged, or it could release a spiral of violence and hate, which would take a terrible toll. Within Kashmir, people not only talk of the extraordinary death toll last weekend but also the numbers of head wounds among the young victims of CRPF firing. Even though many of the security forces have shown amazing restraint, the head wounds of those who do get killed in firing has given some the impression that the forces are out to kill. Many who think of themselves as nationalists focus instead on the fact that the country’s security forces’ camps and police stations were brazenly attacked on Saturday. They talk of the young men who are getting killed as ‘supporters of terrorists.’ They express amazement that people are protesting the killing of a ’terrorist’ who had taken up arms against the state. The latter discourse suggests that large sections of Indians have not registered the huge extent to which young Kashmiris have been alienated over the past few years. Such views tend to be a-contextual, uninterested in the factors that drive young people to take up arms even though they are almost certain to be killed. There are several reasons for the current alienation of young Kashmiris. Anger over lack of relief for a year after the 2014 flood is one. Resentment against the cynicism, repression and corruption of the Omar Abdullah regime had already brought alienation to a very high level even before the floods of 2014. Distress over the PDP’s coalition with the BJP, which is perceived as anti-Muslim, is another. [caption id=“attachment_2885350” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Security personnel in Kashmir. PTI[/caption] Among young Kashmiris, many of them in their teens, police excesses and human rights abuses are a major factor. This ties in with the corruption and unresponsiveness they sometimes face from the police. Global discourses regarding the oppression of Muslims only add to these factors. One of the most horrific human rights abuses that has played on young minds is the horrific killing of Khalid, Burhan Wani’s elder brother. Khalid was killed on 13 April, 2015. He was allegedly caught by the police while returning after a clandestine meeting with his brother, who was hiding in the forests of the Tral area, from which they hail. Khalid’s body was reportedly brought home without teeth, eyes, nose, ears or a lower jaw. That horrific killing had two effects. One, it focused young Kashmiris’ anger on human rights abuses more sharply than before. Two, it catapulted Burhan into a heroic role in the public imagination in Kashmir. He had taken up arms when he was 15 years old, out for revenge after the police abused and beat him when he was returning home. Stories of Burhan’s heroism have circulated since Khalid’s death. Particularly in south Kashmir, alienation has plugged into support for militancy more openly during these 15 months than before. Many analysts talk of the ‘radicalisation’ of this generation. It is true that they use Islamic rhetoric more than people used to in the past. The influence of the Salafist Ahle-Hadith and the puritanical Tablighi Jamaat has increased by leaps. However, although many adopt the trappings of religiosity such as beards and short pyjamas, most young people have very little in-depth knowledge about religion or the concepts of Islam. The national media has tended to raise a huge scare when even a single Islamic State flag has been waved in Kashmir – often by young people trying to draw attention and to assert their opposition to the Indian state. This sort of projection has helped to shape an image of young Kashmiris as ‘radicalised.’ This suits a narrative that views India as essentially Hindu. This sort of nationalist perspective focuses primarily on Pandits, on doing away with Article 370 of the Indian constitution (which gives Kashmir a special status), and the Amarnath yatra. This sort of focus only increases the impression of discrimination against Kashmiri Muslims, and hence promotes alienation. It is imperative that both sides try to understand the other side’s perspective. For, if the chasm widens, the consequences would be terrible.