I have been to Kashmir 3 times, mostly during the 'troubled' times. I noticed some things:
1. Its not as troubled as it is reported in papers, its only to scare people out of Kashmir ( one example - I was in Srinagar and i read a local newspaper - bomb explosion in Sri Nagar, we were there for 4 days and never heard of it, I asked my driver who later told me it was a blast 400 kms away from Sri Nagar).
2. Locals only want one thing, that is tourists coming to Kashmir. People are so poor they don't care whether Kashmir goes to Pakistan or India or it gets independence, they are only worried about their two-time meals. All this hullaho about past & Kashmiri identity is fuelled by Pakistani elements who give large sums of money to the so called 'separatists' which was recently exposed after a sting operation, there are video footages and recorded phone conversations between Kashmiri separatists and Pakistani leaders discussing about stone peltings, Pakistani leader complaining about less stones pelted for the money he paid. I dont expect my Pakistani friends to know about this as their media is 'very free'. These things were told to me by the same local Muslim Kashmiris who live there even before it broke out in news.
3.With time Kashmiris have realised the real issues, which are basic issues to any human population anywhere in world, that is bread & butter. Kashmiris were brainwashed for the first 50 years that they only existed to get rid of India. After seeing the plight of people living in PoK Kashmiris are now atleast not for a merger with Pakistan which was the case in past. Kashmiris now are more concerned about employment and education than any other issues. If you see the trend, Kashmiris are coming in large numbers to vote, in 90s it used to be below 40%, nowadays voting percentage is above 60%, a clear indication of shift in thinking.
About the human right violations, to all my Pakistani friends, I would humbly ask what rights you have? Here in India everyone has a say in everything, unlike Pakistan, my government can't arrest or house-arrest ( a latest trend in Pak) me for no reason. To give an example of human rights in India, Ajmal Amir Kasab who everyone in the world saw shooting innocent men, women & kids is still under trial, his first lawyer was not defending him properly, so the judge removed him as Kasab's lawyer and appointed a new lawyer who defended Kasab to his fullest. This is called law of court & human right, not the rucus we see everyday in Pakistan.
A very humble & friendly request to my Pakistani friends - we are almost the same, we share a common history until last 60 years, what do you think has separated our 2 great nations so immensely in just 60 years? Ask yourself.
It is the power bestowed to each and every citizen of our country that made the difference, democracy is not perfect, nothing can be, we will have cases of unrests, be it Gujrat, Kashmir or Bihar; but we march as nation, as a family ahead.
Only thing that can change Pakistan is its people, Pakistani leaders always fuel their lavish lifestyles, fill their pockets while they rule, so much so that when they are overturned, they can live a equally lavish lifestyle in London, Dubai etc. They have always cheated their citizens, they have always kept Pakistani citizens in dark. Has any Pakistani leader given a statement for all the money country got from U.S. or China and how much was spent on people of Pakistan? No. They just tell you, India & U.S. are your enemies, we are defending you from them. Get up, face the realities. India is not going to get in your house, we have our own issues. Pakistan need a civil revolution for democracy. Everyone deserves to know how the tax they pay to country is spent on the development.
Every Indian gets the opportunity to get to riches, whether he lives in a slum in Mumbai or Kashmir. It is the people of India and their continued efforts to CONSTRUCTIVE future that made India what it is today. People of Pakistan should look beyond the differences and animosities and build a prosperous, tolerant Pakistan and only way for that is democracy. Every country that invested in innovation & education has succeeded
P.S. - To everyone complaining about human rights violations in Kashmir - If you are really worried, try going to PoK, report from there, or China, or NWFP, or China occupied Kashmir. I bet you wont even be allowed to speak let alone take actions. These are some side-effects of democracies, democracies are criticized more for small mistakes as these mistakes are reported and shown to the world while the real culprits like China or PoK always get away
1 comment:
very good article
Post a Comment