The situation in Kashmir has unravelled like a knitted patchwork blanket and there seems to be no way of stopping the complex and intricate pattern from developing large, gaping holes, much like open wounds that will not heal easily. All the good intentions of creating normality in the region has gone to the winds, making a mockery of the processes of peace and fair governance. The rather ineffective and laid-back manner in which the crisis is being dealt with by the various authorities and the reckless political interventions by those who oppose the government have together shattered the lives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have been living under assaults of all kind for the last few decades.

For years and years, the Amarnath yatra has happened as a pilgrimage dedicated to worship and done in good faith without any angst. Why then this appalling, physically brutal upheaval over land use for the period of the yatra? Why is a simple reality being magnified into an anti-religious fight? Is it the rising land values that make for greed and therefore an unrelenting position? And why did the government of Kashmir, including the two People’s Democratic Party incumbents, ratify the proposal presented by the then governor of the state? Surely they had an opportunity to reject the ‘suggestion’ and enforce the status quo. The entire saga is about faulty and parochial positions and a gross mismanagement of sensitive and fragile issues.

With Mehbooba Mufti threatening to walk across the line of control with the other separatists from Kashmir, into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the aggravation in the valley has accelerated, running amok over what had begun to seem like a period of reconciliation, well on the way to restoring normalcy in the valley. It is an extremely sad and unneccessary trauma that Kashmir has been put through yet again.

Valley of darkness

Political posturing on all sides — the clash among parties bent on capitalizing on the divided support base in order to serve diverse self-interest — has managed to destroy a secular society that was intrinsically sufi in its way of life, never insular, bigoted or extreme. The responsibility for the destruction of Kashmiriyat rests with all political dispensations who have, over the decades, infiltrated their polarized positions into the fabric of the society, compelling friction and degradation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party remains adamant about linking Amarnath with Sethu Samudram, intent upon forcing another line from the crown of the subcontinent to Kanyakumari, dividing the plurality of our civilization. The people of India may fall into the trap of this kind of polarized politics or they may well reject it out of hand as being detrimental to the essence of India and therefore unacceptable to them. The United Progressive Alliance government continues to dither about with the home minister trying to draw a different kind of line between the states and the Centre, absolving the Centre of its failure to deal with the growth of militant naxalism and its clumsy performance in enforcing the law on acts of terrorism.

A Central cabinet overhaul is imperative. A definite and comprehensive plan needs to be hammered out with the signatures of all political parties. The mandate must be spelt out clearly in an effort to assure Indians that lethargy has given way to joint affirmative action. Any waste of time on this front will lead to the demand for separating Jammu and Ladakh from the Valley of Kashmir, which will be suicidal for the ethos and cultural truths of India and Bharat. Separatism will become the new call across this land and will empower all the political elements that are desperate for a share of the spoils. This is all very dangerous and, the situation needs to be seen for what it is developing into.