Why there's no light at the end of Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Kashmir
The statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, while inaugurating the 9-km Chenani-Nashri tunnel, have once again proved that the Centre has no political will to reach out to the different stakeholders, both within and outside the state, in order to break the "Kashmir logjam".
At the same time, the political immaturity as well as helplessness of the state government was also on display.
Invoking the development agenda once again - it's an old habit of central and state politicians to wrongly present development as a panacea for all ills in Kashmir - Modi said "40 years of conflict has not given anything to the state except destruction". And instead, had the people of the state chosen "tourism", the benefits would have been phenomenal.
The prime minister (more as a warning) gave the youths of Kashmir two options to choose from - "tourism" or "terrorism". Of course, there was no mention of loss of lives, no regret over maiming and blinding of young Kashmiris.
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| There was no talk of reaching out to stakeholders, no mention of any dialogue process. |
There was no talk of reaching out to stakeholders, no mention of any dialogue process. It was just a warning, plain and simple - shun your movement or face bullets and pellets.
Mufti on her part went a step further. While welcoming Modi to inaugurate the tunnel, she argued that the tunnel will not only reduce the physical distance, but will also bring "Kashmir closer to the rest of India".
She believed that this tunnel will "bring hearts closer". It is ironic that she believes that to be true at a time when more and more people prefer to travel by air (as it has become cheaper and saves a lot of time).
How would a tunnel (that reduces the distance by just 2 hours) bring hearts together?
She thanked the prime minister for supporting her during the "2016 unrest", without mentioning how that uprising was actually suppressed.
For ordinary Kashmiris, mention of the "2016 uprising" only brings back memories of killings and blind eyes, and there is nothing to thank for. This is not the first time Mufti has shown her political immaturity.
During the "2016 unrest", her "toffee and milk" reference deeply hurt the people and aggravated public anger.
This is not the first time that an Indian prime minister has talked about development and packages and presented it as the only solution to the complex problem. Economic packages worth crores of rupees have been announced from time to time but have not solved the issues. The inauguration of railway lines during the UPA regime in Kashmir was hailed as a major step forward, but could it address the alienation?
In November 2015, Modi announced a Rs 80,000-crore economic package and yet we have reached a situation where youths run towards encounter sights to save militants.
More than any economic package, what Kashmiris wanted (in fact I doubt whether the new generation is actually interested in anything like dialogue) was a positive political message.
What Kashmiris want New Delhi to do is to carry forward the political process of resolving the Kashmir issue. There was no talk on re-starting dialogue with Pakistan.
The prime minister made no attempt to reach out to the separatists. Let’s not forget that it was from Srinagar that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reached out to Pakistan as well as other stakeholders, which had generated positive dividends.
It is not for nothing that Vajpayee is still remembered as a visionary leader and is being constantly invoked by leadership across political spectrum. While Modi from time to time does invoke Vajpayee’s famous phrase of "Jamhooriyat, Insaaniyat and Kashmiriyat", he could not give these terms the same meaning as Vajpayee did.
No matter how much BJP may try to make the people of India believe that they don’t recognise Pakistan as a party to the dispute, or that separatists are mere fringe elements with no base in Kashmir, the fact remains that the only way forward towards meaningful progress on Kashmir is by engaging with these parties.
The overwhelming participation of people in militant funerals, even non-locals, should be an eye-opener to New Delhi. The fact that a "new breed" of militants is enjoying popularity among youth should be taken seriously.
Also, the fact that this new breed comes from educationally and economically affluent families should be enough to shift the focus from economic packages to political dialogue.
Perhaps the BJP leadership in their arrogance of electoral victories is not ready to read the writing on the wall. The fact that Modi’s visit to Kashmir in 2015 was made possible by virtually turning the Valley into an open jail, with people suffering huge economic losses as well as physical and psychological torture, the message he carried was disappointing.
This time around, while Modi was trying to address the youth of Kashmir, it seemed they were hardly interested in listening to him. Kashmir was shut once again, and the very next day a youth in Chadoora became the 65th victim to lose both eyes to pellet guns since July 2016.
Like they say "talks and guns cannot go together", similarly "killing of people and hoping to win peace in Kashmir cannot go together".
And certainly, economic packages and tunnels are not going to change the course of history - it has not done in the past, it won't do now as well. The fact that not a single major rally could be organised by political parties for the upcoming bypolls either in south Kashmir or in Srinagar, serves as a mirror for the BJP government to see the reality.