THE scenes of young Kashmiri girls, most of them in school uniforms and hijab, throwing stones at security forces have stunned India and people around the world. The iconic image of an angry Afshan Ashique, a football coach who once wanted to play for India, taking on soldiers has gone viral. The disturbing images reminded one of Palestinian schoolgirls and women protesting on the streets of Gaza. The Gaza-ization of Kashmir is complete. However, India for all its flaws is not Israel. But the fact that the young women are picking up stones and are fighting pitched battles with the security forces suggests that Kashmir has crossed a new dangerous, milestone. When women take up arms — in this case, stones — and stand with men to confront injustice, it's a sign that society has traversed a point of no return. The whole of Kashmiri society is now up in arms — men and women, the young and old. As Essar Batool, author of Do You Remember Konan-Poshpura, chronicling mass rapes at the hands of troops, puts it, "these images of young women with their cute bunny bags or football in hand are extremely powerful. They shatter many myths and stereotypes about Kashmiri women." This should have been a wake-up call to a mature leadership, prompting it to reach out to the alienated Kashmiris with a new sense of purpose. Instead true to its hardnosed image, the BJP government in Delhi, which shares power with Mehbooba Mufti's PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, has chosen to form a new female force to deal with the new phenomenon of female protesters. When a desperate Mufti, the chief minister, recently met Prime Minister Modi seeking dialogue "with all stakeholders" to defuse the explosive situation, invoking Vajpayee's message of "insaniyat and jamhuriyat" (humanity and democracy) she was bluntly told that no dialogue is possible with the separatists or Pakistan. Instead, Delhi offered to talk to political parties, the folks responsible for the current mess. And yes, Mufti was asked to raise another 5,000-strong police force! This is not the first government to view Kashmir through a security prism. Successive regimes, including the previous Congress-led government, have treated Kashmir as a "security problem" that must be kept under control with an iron hand. It is an endless, vicious cycle. The more freedom Kashmiris demand to "choose their own destiny," the more troops are sent by Delhi to tame what it sees as a lawless frontier. And the more the ubiquitous military gets on the Kashmiri nerves, the more they crave freedom and take to streets. As a result, today despite being the world's densest militarised zone, Kashmir remains the world's most dangerous place, in the words of Bill Clinton, thanks to the perpetual bickering between India and Pakistan, the nuclear neighbors. Many thought things would improve when the PDP, a party that championed autonomy and dialogue with separatists, surprisingly joined hands with the BJP to form a coalition. Considering BJP's posturing on Kashmir and Modi's mandate, many had hoped the PDP-BJP government might succeed where others had failed, restoring peace and defusing tensions with Pakistan. Especially after Modi invoked Vajpayee, the tallest leader and founder of the BJP, during his first visit to the Valley. Clearly, that was not to be. Under the PDP and BJP, things have gone from bad to worse. Instead of offering a healing touch, the governments in Delhi and Srinagar have constantly stoked the fire of Kashmiri anger. Mufti has lost all credibility as she desperately and unsuccessfully tries to toe the Delhi line. The strong-arm tactics of a myopic government that clearly thinks that a big stick in hand and brute force in uniform is the answer to all problems have inflamed Kashmir like never before. As if the daily killings and brutalizing of Kashmiris using pellet guns weren't enough, the troops are now resorting to tactics like using locals as the "human shield". The recent assault on Farooq Dar, a shawl weaver, strapping him to the front of an army jeep and parading him through villages the whole day as a "live trophy" and as a "lesson" to others takes this whole "psychological" warfare to a whole new level. The video has sparked outrage around the world including inviting a strong rebuke from the New York Times. Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, a decorated veteran of Indian Army, tweeted: "The image of a stone-pelter tied in front of a jeep as a "human shield" will forever haunt the Indian Army and the nation." But there were many who defended the indefensible, especially the holy warriors in television studios, and even those who are supposed to offer the protection of the law to the weak and vulnerable. The attorney general of India, no less, defended the action, praising the officer who made an example of Dar. A judge on the armed forces tribunal, which hears court martial appeals, tweeted hailing the "innovative idea." Meanwhile several graphic videos have surfaced showing the torture of Kashmiris by troops. In one such grisly video, soldiers are seen raining blows on hapless, terrified men, urging them to shout anti-Pakistan slogans. Is it any wonder then that people are taking to streets to protest against the men in uniform and what they have come to represent. The Kashmiri alienation is complete. Of course, it's easy to blame Pakistan and its continuing support for militancy and cross-border terrorism. The neighbor may have added fuel to the fire in Kashmir from time to time. However, much of this mess is the creation of politicians in Kashmir and Delhi. Regularly rigged elections, a dogged refusal to acknowledge the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Kashmiris, forgetting India's own historic promises, and above all the widespread human rights abuses have brought Kashmir to this pass. Living cheek by jowl with half a million troops for so long can turn the most peaceful and docile population hostile and edgy. The Kashmiris, especially the young and restless of today's generation, have lived with the troops for as long as they can remember. What will it take for governments in Srinagar and Delhi to see that you cannot rule forever at gunpoint? Peace and normalcy will continue to elude Kashmir as long as the army rules the streets and occupies the political space. The talk of dialogue and resolving the K knot is meaningless as long as there's no political will and courage of conviction. All those well-meaning peace missions to Kashmir, the latest one being led by BJP's Yashwant Sinha, haven't gone anywhere precisely because of this. From the late Dileep Padgaonkar to CPM's Sitaram Yechury to Sinha, no one in Delhi has even bothered to read their sincere recommendations. Yet it's the Kashmiris who are blamed time and again for this mess. PM Modi is uniquely placed to make a new beginning in Kashmir. Does he have the courage and willingness to walk the talk on his own promise to bring back "insaniyat and jamhuriyat" to Kashmir? It's still not too late to act.
