Virtual Homeland of Kashmiri Pandits

Kashmir News Network

We are probably going through what can be termed as the roughest week in the Indo Pak relations. With the War clouds hovering in the air and the war hysteria reaching its peak everybody is asking the same question ‘ What next’ Having fought three bitter wars already without any solution nobody in their right mind would support war. Especially since both countries have acquired nuclear capabilities, the options really are very hard.

Kashmir and Kashmiris in particular have bled a lot. Over the period of time it has been fully established that Pakistan is only interested in spreading unrest and destabilizing India. Even if (only hypothetically speaking) Kashmir were to be handed over to them in a platter, the friction would not stop. A good case in the point is that during Punjab Militancy it was openly known that most Punjabi militants were trained and armed in Pakistan. We have enough proof to prove that Pakistan’s support to Kashmiri Militancy is not only moral and political as they claim but they train and arm militants under the tutelage of Pakistani ISI  Bigwigs. Kashmiri struggle is no longer an indigenous struggle of disgruntled Kashmiris. It is another step in their so called Islamic Jehad where the reign of terror is let loose by Afghan and Pakistani mercenaries. Knowing all this and keeping in view the unforgivable attack on Parliament and Kashmir assembly and the most recent attack in Kaluchak where women and children were made the casualties most Indians feel that we should get rid of Pakistani barbarity now. A befitting reply should be given to them at any cost. They cannot be allowed to hold the entire country ransom simply because they have acquired nuclear capability.

This is a very valid argument. We surely have lost a lot. Since I am a displaced Kashmiri myself I know what it means to be homeless. Yet I do not support war not because I am a coward but because I still do think that although a lot is lost yet everything is not lost yet. Pakistan has given us no reason till now to trust them and that is exactly the reason why I am against an all out war. If somebody were to guarantee that after complete annihilation of few cities on both sides and a couple of million dead on both sides Kashmir dispute would be solved, I would say, yes go for it. But I know that a regular war and a nuke war will only bleed us more, probably to the extent that we will not be able to nurse our wounds even. Yet the Kashmir issue would still remain unresolved. So what should we do. We obviously cannot sit and watch helpless individuals becoming victim of Pakistani attacks and nor can we allow Pakistan to unleash its terror.

If we judge by the latest Afghan War where the American media would have the world believe that they have won, the truth is far from that. Americans have hardly won. Osama bin laden has not been caught either dead or alive, and Mullah Omar is still in hiding. Al Qaeda is still going strong. Americans are still worried about the threat that can catch them unaware any time. Even after putting the interim government in Afghanistan the war against terror is far from over. The only reason why I am talking about America’s tryst with Afghanis is to put forward the view that by toppling governments and massacring a few thousands we cannot win this war against terror. The Terrorism Inc is truly a multi national and they can find refuge in any part of the Islamic world. So my question is that how will the war solve this situation. Knowing Pakistan, it is quite possible that the nuclear button could be in the hands of some fanatic who will not think twice before pulling the trigger.

In my opinion the battle of Kashmir can only be fought diplomatically and by taking firm steps in the valley. Most Kashmiris say that if the infiltration could be stopped, Kashmir could inch its way to normalcy. We have to push Americans to pressurize Musharraf to stop infiltration and then take stern steps against the militants in the valley. Indian Government has failed to win over Kashmiris either Muslims or Pandits. They have to think of a way to incorporate them in the mainstream and they have to think of a passage whereby minorities can return to the valley. These steps need vision and firm approach. War is not going to solve anything according to me.

So instead of creating war hysteria and then cooling himself in the hills, Vajpayee should think of a way whereby he can get the kashmiris to rally behind him. Recent polls have suggested that most Kashmiri Muslims do not want to be with Pakistan. We could take it from there and think of some serious steps in assimilating them. This does not mean appeasing Muslims. This means hard steps like creating employment opportunities for unemployed who are the first victims of Islamic Propaganda. This definitely does not mean donating crores to the state where the money ends up filling the pockets of select few.

War is definitely not the answer to Kashmir issue. We cannot afford to lose any more people on the altar of Kashmir. Of course we have to secure our borders and our citizens but let us try every other method and resort to war once truly every other option has been exercised.

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