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India’s liberal faces say let
Kashmir go
WSN Network
 NEW DELHI:
Two
reputable columnists often acting as secular, liberal apologists for
the Indian nation state have once again come out to attack the
beleagured Kashmiris in a new brahamnical way, hiding under the garb
of the more liberal than the liberal. Vir Sanghvi in the Hindustan
Times: “If the experience of the last two decades has taught us
anything, it is that the situation never really returns to normal.
Even when we see the outward symptoms of peace, we miss the
alienation and resentment within. No matter what we do, things never
get better, for very long.”
“I reckon we
should hold a referendum in the Valley. Let the Kashmiris determine
their own destiny. If they want to stay in India, they are welcome.
But if they don’t, then we have no moral right to force them to
remain. If they vote for integration with
Pakistan,
all this will mean is that Azad Kashmir will gain a little more
territory. If they opt for independence, they will last for about 15
minutes without the billions that India has showered on them. But it
will be their decision.”
 “Whatever
happens, how can
India
lose? If you believe in democracy, then giving Kashmiris the right
to self-determination is the correct thing to do. And even if you
don’t, surely we will be better off being rid of this constant,
painful strain on our resources, our lives, and our honour as a
nation? This is
India’s
century. We have the world to conquer –the other- and the means to
do it.
Kashmir is a
20th century problem. We cannot let it drag us down and bleed us as
we assume our rightful place in the world. It’s time to think the
unthinkable.”
Columnist
Swaminathan Aiyar in The Times of India:
"I was once
hopeful of Kashmir’s integration, but after six decades of effort,
Kashmiri alienation looks greater than ever. India seeks to
integrate with Kashmir, not rule it colonially. Yet, the parallels
between British rule in India and Indian rule in Kashmir have become
too close for my comfort.”
“We promised
Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and
give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and
union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for
independence.
Jammu
will opt to stay with
India, and
probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the
politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.”
These comments
come with the full awareness that any vote, even within the Indian
part of Kashmir, could stir up bitter divisions between and within
the three regions that make up the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
– Hindu-dominated Jammu, Muslim-dominated Kashmir and Buddhist-
dominated Ladakh — that would dwarf the recent protests. Does such
"new thinking" contribute to a genuine effort towards a durable
peace. Or is it designed to make an intractable problem even more
complicated?
20 August, 2008
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