Kashmir problem a solutions

“God helps those who help themselves”

All those who have been following the Kashmir problem would understand and
appreciate that it is a very complex issue and would require tremendous effort
and time to get it back to a normal state.
Kashmiri Pundits 400,000 of them were thrown out of their own homeland and
the government of the day looked the other way. Let us not go there but focus on
what can be done now. People of India wanted Article 370 and 35 to go and all
and sundry said it would never be possible to get rid of them, including the
kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs who were displaced. BJP Government took a leap of
faith and a very big political challenge and I would say political risk to abrogate
article 370 and created two Union territories almost overnight as surprise
element was essential for this to succeed. The troubled state came under direct
governance of the central Government. A brilliant master stroke!

Till that moment, security forces were being attacked every day and stones pelted
at the uniformed fraternity in open. What a disgrace for a nation state? Terrorism
was rampant and no one was safe. After the abrogation of article 370 the
command and control came directly under the central government and a free
hand was given to the Armed forces and Para military to take action as deemed
fit. Yet Pakistan sponsored terror did not finish completely and after Taliban
taking over Afghanistan and US troops leaving Afghanistan, Pakistan tried to give
a fresh lease of life to terrorism in Kashmir and they started targeting minority community being a soft target and were sure of scaring them. This today is the biggest challenge in front of the government in re migrating Kashmiri pundits and
other communities back to their homeland.

On TV debates most of the people expect a miracle from the government and say
they want a ‘guarantee’ of safety for the Kashmiri Hindus. Though legitimate, this
seems to be a very difficult proposition. In a situation where armed security
forces themselves are fighting a tough battle and losing men fighting terrorists
how can they guarantee security for every civilian? Most Kashmiri pundit activists
on the TV debates go back into history and say that this is a 700 year old problem.
They also say it is a mindset problem. Fine if it is 700 year old problem, then how
do you expect it to be solved in 700 days? You got to be reasonable.

Britain and entire Europe has been struggling to preempt lone wolf attacks but
have not succeeded. Anybody who has ever been involved with security would
agree that this is something which is desirable but not implementable.

Today there is not only a ray of hope, but a beam of hope which must not lose momentum. Remember the biggest difference is that during the exodus the
government was not with you- many claim they were against the Hindu and Sikh minority and today you have full support and backing of the government at the center as well as at the local level.

The balance is in your favor.

Call from History

Talking of history let me take you just 80 years back. At the beginning of World War 2 one of the first nations to go was France. It was Hitler’s Blitzkrieg which rammed into France with such ferocity that the entire nation crumbled and for
the rest of the War it was known as occupied France. The situation was much worse than what is in Kashmir today. They had been conquered lock stock and barrel.

The German forces with heavy armored tanks, guns and infantry occupied most of the country from June 1940 to Oct 1944 a full four years of Nazi dictatorship. House to house search to keep civilians in check was thenorm. There were no human rights, no media and no help as there was no government.

The Germans seized about 80 percent of the French food production, which caused severe disruption to the household economy of the French people.

French farm production fell in half because of lack of fuel, fertilizer and workers even so the Germans seized half the meat, 20 percent of the produce, and 80 percent. Supply problems quickly affected French stores which lacked most items
of the Champagne.

The administration answered by rationing, and creating food charts and tickets
which were to be exchanged for bread, meat, butter and cooking oil. The rationing system was stringent but badly managed, leading to malnourishment,
black markets, and hostility to state management of the food supply. The official ration provided starvation level diets of 1,300 or fewer calories a day, supplemented by home gardens and, especially, black market purchases.

Hunger prevailed, especially affecting youth in urban areas. The queues lengthened in front of shops.

Kashmir is much better off. You don’t have enemy forces controlling you but your own forces protecting you with a sympathetic local administration.

What did the French do?

They had nowhere to go. They had no support and they were prisoners of the
Nazi Government in their own country.

They cried, suffered but didn’t sit tight and wait for providence to liberate them. They started coordinating with Allied forces especially the British. They did more than their bit. They resisted the Nazi occupants in their own way in France which was called ‘occupied France’. Situation was as bad and even worse than what is happening in Taliban today.

They provided first-hand intelligence information, as they knew the lay of the land
very well. These men and women came from all economic levels and political leanings of French society, including, academics, students, aristocrats, conservative Roman Catholics (including priests and nuns), Protestants, Jews and liberals. It was their fight. It is estimated that they were anywhere from 75,000 to 200,000 men and women who at the risk of their lives fought the massive German
occupying army for four long years till they were liberated by the Allied forces
after Normandy landings.

The French people played a significant role in facilitating the Allies’ rapid advance
through France following the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. They provided military intelligence on the German defenses known as the Atlantic Wall.

Their work was politically and morally important to France both during the German occupation and decades that followed. It provided the country with an inspiring example of the patriotic fulfillment of a national imperative countering an existential threat to French nationhood.

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them for you:

Franz Kafka

What can be done?

The Kahmiris going back home must appreciate that government and the entire administration including police and security are with them and that in a legal constitutional terms.

Organize yourself and you are at least 200,000 and that is a good number to reckon with. Our weakest link there may be human intelligence and since it is
your area, you can be the best to provide useful information against impending attack by terrorists.

Former DGP of J&K Police Shesh Paul Vaid has favoured arming the minority Hindus and vulnerable sections among the Muslim community in the Kashmir Valley so that they can protect themselves from terror attacks. This could be looked at self-defense capability to be built up. He added, “Village Defence Committees (VDCs) can be constituted in the Valley. However, this formula requires detailed planning. Forming VDCs in the Kashmir Valley is difficult, but not impossible.” If successful, these could be replicated at Town and city level too.

As reported in India Today.

This armed conflict with terrorists by Hindus may be far-fetched and impractical
but a resilient mind set with intention to coordinating with the administration and
within the community will definitely save the situation.

Remember there are no free lunches and freedom is never for free.