Another instance of ethnic cleansing in Kashmir, three back to back terror incidents
The game of bloodshed which has been started by our neighbour Pakistan has clearly gone out of its control.
In what can be described as a sickening instance of ethnic cleansing, three terror incidents in a space of a few hours shook the conscience of Kashmir. The ethnic cleansing is not of adherents to a particular faith. It is striking at the very roots of humanity and its secular culture, a culture of accommodating other viewpoints.
Game of terror and ethnic cleansing started by Pakistan
Virender Paswan, a poor migrant from Bihar who came to Kashmir to earn his bread by selling golgappas never imagined he would be shot in his sleep. His panipuri stand is still standing near his lifeless body, a meek testimony that earning a livelihood is still torture in this country.
A few hours before Srinagar’s well-known Bindroo medical shop owner Makhan Lal Bindroo, who stayed on in Srinagar due to his faith in Kashmiriyat and did not join his brethren who fled en masse in the early ’90s was shot dead. It is a silent testimony that extremism is prevailing over humanity in Kashmir.
The third victim was Mohd Shafi Lone, a resident of Naidkhai. He was a local taxi owners association president.
Clear message with these killings in cold blood
The three killings have three clear messages- Firstly, no migrant will be allowed into paradise to earn a living, secondly, the brave few remaining pandits who still have faith in Kashmirayat are unwanted in Kashmir, and thirdly, any Kashmiri who tries to get on with life as a semblance of normalcy returns to the valley is unacceptable.
The game which has been started by our neighbour has clearly gone out of its control. It has become a clash of two viewpoints. A liberal, secular and all accommodating environment or an era of medieval culture which keeps half its population indoors and allows the other half to dictate how things would run. Afghanistan has already fallen and now it is Pakistan’s turn to become a theocratic state with a harsh interpretation of Sharia practices dictated by the Taliban. The killings in Kashmir is the first tentative steps of the Taliban ideology and the coming days will see more such incidents dominating the timeline of Kashmir.
Taliban suits China for its scant regard for democracy and human rights
The deep state in Pakistan must be emboldened by the victory of their protégé in Afghanistan. The deep state actors are least bothered about repercussions because the West, the upholders of democracy is least concerned about what is happening in South Asia. The U.S. true to its colour has made a hasty exit from Afghanistan and China has quickly filled in the vacuum created by the U.S. exit. Taliban suits China because the latter too has scant regard for democracy and human rights.
It is for the people of Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan to resist the ideology of hatred and fascism. It is time to start cultivating the spirit of inclusiveness in the curriculum of the young to create a generation of secular, sensitive and sane individuals. For the last forty years, this paradise on earth has bled and burned due to the geopolitics of the state and its neighbours.
In 1947 when the whole Indian subcontinent was burning in an orgy of communal violence, Kashmir was an island of peace and tranquillity. However, today the situation is completely different. A far-right government is ruling at the centre. The majority community is increasingly getting communalized and it is much easier for radicalized Islamists to raise this bogey and forward their agenda of hate.
