N AJAY KASHYAP
It is no secret that our notorious western neighbour is fuelling tensions in the valley. For almost 20 weeks since the killing of terrorist Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the valley was completely shut due to protests sponsored by separatists.
However, within 10 days of the historic and bold move of the Modi Government on demonetisation, the valley has sprung back to life. The question being asked is: Why did the unrest stop all of a sudden after demonetisation? It goes on to prove that the stone-pelters were in fact paid for this job and that they owe no allegiance to these separatists who call for a ‘Azad Kashmir’
Class 12th students defied the separatists call for a boycott and around 95 per cent students appeared for their board exams, one of the highest seen in recent years. These are all poof that the feeling in Kashmir is not what the mainstream Indian media has been projecting. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said that these stone-pelters were paid Rs 500 each for targeting the security forces. Clearly, demonetisation has affected to an extent terror-funding in the valley.
It remains to be seen how our ‘human rights’ activist justify this sudden decline in stone pelting. For long, these activists, who are apologists for terrorists and separatist forces, had claimed the Indian state to be the aggressor and supported the cessation of Kashmir from India. With protests dying down in the valley, it is a clear indication that, though all may not be well, there is certainly hope for a better future in Kashmir after this courageous move by the Union Government.
Intelligence sources had in the past pointed out how hundreds of crores of rupees were pumped in, and in most cases, fake Indian currency was being used by these ‘angels of azadi’ to disrupt normal life in Kashmir. But the ‘secular’ Governments of the past didn’t move an inch to curtail this menace. Now that there is a Government which has shown the spine to work against the anti-national forces and try to bring peace to the valley, the secularists are unable to stomach this fact.
However, one must understand that all is not well. This is a temporary phase and Pakistan will be back at what it does best. Therefore, the Indian Government and the civil society must use this time to engage with the common Kashmiris, recognise their needs and aspirations and try to find solutions. Kashmiriyat will prevail if we sit across the table and try to understand each other. After all, Kashmiris are our people and Kashmir is an integral part of India.
Pakistan on the other hand will try to deflect the attention of the world community from the atrocities it commits in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan by invoking trouble in Kashmir. It is necessary that we utilise this time to educate the young aspirational Kashmiri about our neighbour’s evil plans.
Having said that, it is time that we as Indians come together to applaud this decision of the Prime Minister in his fight against anti-national elements, black money and corruption. Yes, there will be inconvenience for today, but it is worth the pain as we are seeing a Government that is striving hard to ease the problems of the common man and make India a corruption-free country.