Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Urdu Section

15 Nov 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com

There is a need to involve the Muslim polity of the country to solve Kashmir issue

The question then is what should be done. Is doing something really that much difficult or has it been made so due to our mutually rigid attitude. I do not understand that if the undivided Punjab can split and merge into two neighbouring countries and the united Bengal can split between India and Bangladesh why can’t it be made possible for the Kashmiris to live in peace and harmony despite being divided by artificial borderlines like the Bengalis and the Punjabis do. If Kashmir is not made a question of political ego and is seen through the point of view of human rights, solving the issue will not a big problem. -- Prof. Tahir Mahmood

There is a need to involve the Muslim polity of the country to solve Kashmir issue

By Prof. Tahir Mahmood Recently the Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind organised a major Kashmir Conference at the Ram Lila Ground in Delhi. My name was also on the list of the speakers. In such conferences people are generally invited to express their views but once the conference starts, certain limitations are imposed on the speakers and those transgressing the prescribed limits get a warning note which, to me, is an insult. Though I had a lot to say on the topic but could present only some of my views in the five minutes I was given and ran away for the fear of getting the ‘letter of suspension’. However, I am expressing my views on Kashmir in this article today. Recently the nation has commemorated the birth anniversary of one of its worthy sons whose ancestors belonged to a family of Kashmiri pandits but destiny had decided for him to be the greatest reformer of the Muslims of this region. By this I mean the great philosopher and poet Dr Md Iqbal who spent his life calling his co-religionists towards the real Islamic teachings pulling them out of the blind alley of mindless emulation and consequently antagonised one and all. Although nowadays every Tom, Dick and Harry is a self-styled Iqbal expert but I do not have any claim to this effect and consider myself only a humble admirer of his. I begin with one of his couplets which rightly describes the current picture of his native place: Aaj who kashmir hai mahkoom o majbur o faqir Kal jise ahle watan kahte the Iran-e-saghir ( The Kashmir that was once called a small Iran today stands suppressed, helpless and impoverished) After having enslaved the sub-continent for centuries, when the British were forced to leave the country, they not only divided it on the basis of religion but also left a thorn in the flesh of the nation by giving hundreds of independent princely states the right to self determination. Being under the rule of a non-Muslim ruler for centuries, the Muslim majority Kashmir was thrown into uncertainty. I do not want to repeat what happened later. However, Kashmir was acceded to the Indian Republic under certain pre-conditions and the mutual agreement on the predeterrmined conditions of accession was included in the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Subsequently, on the one hand the ‘Islamic’ State that was carved out of the bosom of Mother India raised a hue and cry and on the other, despite the inclusion of the conditions of accession in the Constitution, it was violated wilingly or unwillingly by India. Not only that, after a certain period it was even demanded that since the special status given to Kashmir was at the root of all problems, the Article 370 should be scrapped. This demand was synonymous with axing one’s own leg and the fact was not given a thought that shortly after the Article 370, ten consecutive Articles granted special status to Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim too. Therefore, the growing concrerns among the Kashmiris on the rising political demand for the scrapping of the Article 370 were a natural fallout. Gradually these concerns turned into extemism and agression through childish passion and naïve youth thanks to the provocations from across the border. The result was that Kashmir jannat nazeer turned into a virtual hell. But instead of sprinkling cold water of dialogue and discussions to put out the fire, the police were given the license to shower bullets by passing special laws. The situation has come to such a passe that neither the protesters have any control over themsleves nor is their any sympathy or human feelings left in the hearts of the suppressors. For whatever reasons, right or wrong, the lava might be simmering in the minds of the Kashmiri youth, but if in their pursuit of making Kashmir a paradise again, they think that the two parts of Kashmir can be merged to make an independent Unified Kashmir, they are living in the proverbial fool’s paradise. On the other hand if Pakistan believes that Kashmir can ever come under its jurisdiction, it can be termed as its pipe-dream. And our government’s hope that Muzaffarabad can some day come under it’s rule, it can only be a child’s wishful thinking. It would be wise and prudent for the Kashmiri youth to consider why they hope that they will enjoy a peaceful life and prosperity by handing themselves over to a country which could not keep itself united and was split into two merely four decades after coming into existence and whose remaining part is also a witness to rebellions and sectarian violence. The question then is what should be done. Is doing something really that much difficult or has it been made so due to our mutually rigid attitude. I do not understand that if the undivided Punjab can split and merge into two neighbouring countries and the united Bengal can split between India and Bangladesh why can’t it be made possible for the Kashmiris to live in peace and harmony despite being divided by artificial borderlines like the Bengalis and the Punjabis do. If Kashmir is not made a question of political ego and is seen through the point of view of human rights, solving the issue will not a big problem. Human Rights Commissions are present on either side of the border and there is one such state commission in Kashmir too. Why have these organisations been silent spectators to the painful situation in the Kashmir? Jamiat’s taking notice of the worsening situation in Kashmir is commendable but there is a need to rise above merely holding conferences and take some solid initiatives. Why can’t the major groups and organisations of Muslims send a team of their representatives to Kashmir to speak to their coreligionists and listen to their problems and views and to explain to them the delicacy of the situtaion and then convey their views and apprehensions to the government? And why can’t the government of India on its own initiative depend on its Muslim citizens to form a team of their intellectuals and academicians and give them the responsibility to hold dialogue with Kashmiri Muslims? I have the firm belief that Muslims of the country alone can restore the Kashmiri people’s faith in India. The government is not going to achieve anything by keeping them isolated from this issue. If the Kashmir issue is solved amicably, India and Pakistan can live in peace and harmony and the people in the whole subcontinent can heave a sigh of relief. Both the governments should revise their attitude and the religious and welfare organisations should fulfill their responsibilities on this issue. Kashmiri peope have already suffered a lot. Now they need some solace. Source: Rashtriya Sahara Urdu, New Delhi URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=3682