By Imdad Saqi Aug 29, 2008, 10:18 GMT
Srinagar, Kashmir - Simmering anger with the Indian government and its security forces over a land row in the Kashmir Valley has sparked a larger movement that has seen thousands of Kashmiri Muslims take to the streets to demand 'azadi,' or freedom, in non-violent protests over the past two weeks.
Protestor Shakeel Ahmed, a university student, said he wants to end 'Indian occupation' of Kashmir.
'We think we should be governed by our people,' he said. 'It is a matter of our identity and existence.'
Residents of Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, said the massive numbers of people gathering for protests these days is reminiscent of the early 1990s when anti-India sentiment was even stronger. At least 80 per cent of the protesters are young people, like Ahmed, who grew up in the years of militancy under the shadow of security forces.
In the months leading up to the protests, business was picking up as tourists returned to the militancy-plagued, but picturesque region with its verdant valleys, lakes and mountains.
Kashmir's historical angst with the Indian state had been well below the surface until a decision by the government to allot 40 hectares of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board, which organizes an annual pilgrimage to a Hindu cave shrine in the valley.
The land was to be used to build temporary shelters and toilets for the pilgrims, but Kashmiri separatist leaders alleged it was an attempt to change the demography of the Muslim-majority valley by introducing Hindu settlers.
The decision opened a Pandora's box with politicians from all sides jumping in to use the issue to whip up emotions.
The Muslim protests, which began in June, led the government to cancel its order, which, in turn, led to demonstrations by Hindu groups in the state's southern Jammu region.
Those groups blockaded for days a key road link that carries all supplies to the upper valley, giving further fodder to separatist Kashmiri leaders there to raise their call for 'azadi.'
Jammu and Kashmir state is made up of three regions, each distinct from one another in religion, language and perception of their future.
There is the northern, Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley. Then there is Jammu, largely Hindu, and the third region is predominantly Buddhist, eastern Ladakh. Neither Jammu nor Ladakh subscribe to the Kashmiri Valley's demands for autonomy.
The call for freedom in the Kashmir Valley is not new. When India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947, the princely states across colonial India were given the option of ceding to either of the two countries or remaining independent.
The Hindu ruler of Muslim-majority Kashmir decided to join the Indian dominion. Soon after, Pakistan, which had declared itself an Islamic republic, sent its troops to Kashmir and so did India. A localized war continued through 1948 until the two countries agreed on a ceasefire.
The Line of Control, a de-facto border that divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India, was recognized by both countries.
The Indian establishment promised a plebiscite overseen by the United Nations that would allow Kashmiris to choose India, Pakistan or independence, but the exercise was never held.
The next 60 years saw intermittent protests and the last two decades a separatist militant movement that left more than 40,000 people dead in India-administered Kashmir.
Student protestor Ahmed said there had been a lull in the past few years in Kashmir's bid for freedom, 'but thanks to the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] and other Hindu fundamentalist groups of Jammu, our movement and struggle have been given a rebirth.'
The BJP, India's main opposition party, has been painting the land row as discrimination against Hindus to whip up support across India ahead of the mid-2009 general elections.
Kashmir's separatist leaders, who had lost some support, are now riding a wave of renewed anger against the government. The blockade played its part in giving Muslims of the Kashmir Valley a sense of being held at ransom.
Eminent columnists are wondering aloud whether it is time for a permanent solution.
'Does any government have the right to take away people's liberty with military force?' Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy asked in Outlook magazine. 'India needs azadi from Kashmir just as much - if not more - than Kashmir needs azadi from India.'
Another columnist, Khushwant Singh, suggested India give the Kashmir Valley autonomy to manage its affairs while continuing its military presence on the de-facto border with Pakistan.
The Indian government is grappling with the genie let out of the bottle with the land allotment. Among all the solutions proposed, 'azadi' seems the most unlikely, given the strategic location of Kashmir with its border with China and Pakistan, which whom India has fought two wars over Kashmir.
Kashmir has been an 'issue' for 60 years and looks to remain that way.
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