Statecraft
HAPPYMON JACOB
Hope and hopelessness are two extreme emotional reactions and yet there is a thin line separating them. Once you lose your last straw of hope and cross over towards the edge of hopelessness, just about everything around you ceases to make sense: you would then move on in search of new meanings to life. Joining the armed struggle in politically oppressive environments is something like that. Those living in the midst of political oppression and uncertainties keep their hopes of a better life alive, and when they lose it, they tend to move on to the next level of creating meanings to their political existence. Politics then becomes personal. Armed struggles are particularly attractive to the youth because youngsters are constantly on the lookout for meanings in their lives and armed action against perceived injustices sometimes gives more meaning to their lives like nothing ever could.
Just about everyone in today’s Kashmir is concerned about the increasing phenomenon of educated youth joining militancy. From the Chief Minister to the Army Commander to senior police officials have raised concern about the disturbing phenomenon. They also argue that the number of those joining the militant ranks is very low and hence not a big problem. I think we should be extremely concerned about it for a number of reasons. Phenomenon of this kind often has a snowball effect: it’s the beginning that is difficult, one the threshold is crossed and gains a certain social legitimacy, it gathers strength, steam and, eventually, legitimacy. Is it religiously driven or politically driven? I am of the opinion that while religious inspirations are indeed part of this, much of this is a result of political disillusionment and in that sense the hanging of Afzal Guru has had triggering effect.
The youth bulge argument Or should we blame it on the youth bulge in Kashmir? This statistically well-grounded argument is that youth bulge in the state is responsible for the increasing agitations in the valley. It could even be the reason behind educated youth joining militancy. I do not completely disagree with this argument about youth bulge being one of the factors behind Kashmir’s problems today, but then youth bulge is not limited to Kashmir alone. More importantly, the argument that ‘youth bulge leads to unrest’ is fundamentally an economic one, not a political one for at the heart of such an argument lies the premise that it is due to the lack of opportunities that the youngsters take to militancy. That is not so accurate in the case of Kashmir. In Kashmir, political arguments can better explain the unrest and related problems than economic ones. Hence treating youth bulge as the cause for militancy is treating the problem symptomatically sidestepping the fundamentally political nature of the problem.
Our youth and their youthYouth bulge is not a problem confined to Kashmir alone as pointed out earlier. It is a phenomenon in the rest of India as well. This is increasingly seen as a phenomenon that can lead to social and political tension, and sometimes to socio-political change as well. The recent anti-rape protests across the country, which shook the seat of power in New Delhi for days together, is a direct result of this phenomenon. However, when the youth took to streets in New Delhi and protested against the government’s apathy, no bullet was fired and no one was killed. When the police used force against the protesters, there was widespread condemnation from all over the country. In fact, the reaction of India’s youngsters was perceived as praiseworthy by the media and the Indian middle class. Even though it was mostly an urban phenomenon, it is unlikely that when rural youngsters ask for good governance they would be mistreated by the state.
Compare that to the reaction of the state in Kashmir. Kashmiri youth are generally seen as troublemakers. More importantly, the use of force against the protesting Kashmiris is extreme which is in complete contrast to how the state deals with the youth elsewhere in the country. The fact is that the Kashmir youngsters are also demanding good governance and accountability from the state just as their counterparts are doing in the rest of the country. In other words, the Kashmiri youngsters are no different from their counterparts in other parts of the country in what they do because their demands are similar. But they are treated differently because of deep-seated biases. Indeed, this differential treatment is one of the major reasons why the Kashmiri youth tend to cross over from hope to hopelessness and to militancy. The young Indian protesting against the government is well aware that he can make a difference through his protest, but the protest of the Kashmir youngster is stifled and he/she knows that his/her protest is unlikely to make any difference at the end of the day.
Our governments have a tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A critical analysis of the political developments in Kashmir since 2008 shows that we brought this situation on ourselves thanks to our politically inept and sociologically unwise handling of the situation in Kashmir. Today, we have a new problem to be worried about, of the educated Kashmiri youth joining armed militancy, but this unfortunate turn of events is unlikely to teach us how to handle political problems with wisdom and statesmanship. That indeed is the sad part.
(Source: Greater Kashmir, June 16, 2013. URL: http://greaterkashmir.com/news/2013/Jun/16/kashmir-s-educated-militants-12.asp )
