Kashmir Choked by the “New Maharajas”!

(While the Kashmir valley is physically and politically choked, the “New Maharajas” are enjoying the pleasant climate of Jammu and celebrating the erstwhile Maharaja’s birthday!)

Kashmir valley has been politically “choked” right from 1947. The expression of true aspirations is an “anti-national” act in Kashmir. Now added to this political choking has come the physical choking! During last couple of weeks, the Kashmir Valley has received very heavy snowfall intermittently after a long time. This unprecedented snowfall in recent years has completely isolated the valley. There have been no flights for some days and the only road link to India has remained blocked almost for a week. Well, this is not for the first time that the Kashmir Valley has got virtually physically choked. It has happened umpteen times during winter because the natural outlet from the valley to the outside world known as the Jhelum Valley Road has remained politically closed since the events of 1947. That outlet never used to get physically blocked in winter prior to 1947 and was the main access to the outside world. The other road to Jammu via Bannihal used to remain blocked in winter. Even though the link has been upgraded by widening and new tunnels, it still gets blocked in heavy rain or snow. It is a tough job for the Border Roads Organization to keep it open and they have to do it at a huge cost in men and material because it is the only lifeline to the valley! Similar situation is with flights. In spite of having a world class runway which can take any aircraft flown by international airlines, the flights get cancelled because the Air Force which controls the airport does not allow installation of facilities for instrument landing system (ILS) and the precision approach radar (PAR) which can allow aircraft to land even in falling snow with 300 meters visibility. It is time they show magnanimity and ensure landing and taking off by all civilian flights in all kinds of weather!

Incidentally, when the Valley people are facing all the hardships and miseries, the “New Maharajas” of Kashmir are enjoying the pleasant climate of Jammu! Recently, the Legislative Council of the State Assembly passed a resolution for declaring the birthday of the erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh as a state holiday. A columnist friend has termed it as the betrayal of Kashmir’s Freedom struggle. In 2012, on the unveiling of the statue of the Maharaja Hari Singh in Jammu, a columnist posed a question whether Kashmir had really got rid of the monarchy in 1947? According to the columnist, the event showed that Maharaja Hari Singh continues to be regarded as the beloved King of Jammu & Kashmir by one part of the state even though he had an ignominious exit from the other part and died in exile in Mumbai! Well. The reality is much more than that. We have a new breed of Maharajas who are legitimizing their descent from Maharaja Hari Singh!

The present day monarchy has a different connotation. Following the exit of the Dogra dynasty, we had the dynastic rule of a single family for almost half a century. That has now been followed by another family! We have given birth to new line of maharajas. Similarly, we did not get rid of the feudal lords in 1947 in spite of the revolutionary land reforms but gave birth to a new breed. Earlier the Brahmins used to be the feudal land lords but now we have the new ones, the “Muslim Brahmins”! Aristocracy has been part of the Kashmir Society from the earliest times. Kalhana mentions Damaras as the powerful semi-independent feudal lords who controlled the Royalty of ancient Kashmir. Damaras were feudal land-owners or barons. They mostly lived in the fertile cultivated portions of the valley and their seats formed strong-holds capable of defence. These territorial lords were the true king makers. These earliest aristocrats or nobles continued to be an influential element even under the Sultans of Kashmir. The advent of Islam in the valley introduced a new element. These were the Sayyids who had accompanied Shah-i-Hamadan from Iran. They considered themselves to be superior to the local converts to Islam. Their progeny started a new class of aristocracy. Mughals patronized some of these aristocrats who had sided with them during the capture of Kashmir. However, the rule of Afghans and Sikhs was so harsh that nothing of aristocracy or sophistication survived. They were uncouth and ruthless rulers. Dogras oppressed the local people so much that they were converted into mere serfs. They even murdered Robert Thorpe who dared to expose Kashmiris’ plight in his book, the Kashmir Misgovernment. They also created new class of aristocrats as land barons by importing Rajputs from Jammu as also by patronizing the erstwhile Damaras of Rajatarangini!

Incidentally, Kashmir must be the only place in the world where a state capital is moved from one city to another for the convenience of the rulers. Once the “Durbar” moves to Jammu, the people in the valley are left to fend for themselves. One could not challenge the erstwhile Maharajas as it was their sweet will which mattered and not the welfare of the masses. They wanted to enjoy the best of the seasons and therefore, spent the winter in the warmth of Jammu and enjoyed nature’s beauty in Kashmir’s summer. However, in the present modern age this concept of dual capital is unthinkable. Srinagar is 2000 year old city which has been the capital of Kashmir from the earliest times. The passing of the resolution honouring someone who purchased Kashmir along with its inhabitants and converted them into real serfs should be enough to declare Srinagar as the permanent capital of Kashmir. Let Jammu people have Regional Autonomy and their own permanent capital. Late Balraj Puri died with his unrealized dream of Regional Autonomy for Jammu. One feels it is the right time to honour his memory. Once Srinagar becomes the permanent capital, most of the woes on the developmental side will disappear. In view of the recent clashes and upheavals in the Assembly and total blockade of the valley by nature’s vagaries, it would be more than advisable to debate the proposal of making Srinagar as the permanent capital and granting Jammu, Regional Autonomy.

The Weather Panic!

(The anticipated western disturbance has set a wave of panic among people because of the recent system failure caused by just few inches of snow!)

                      

Over last few days a weather warning has been issued by the Metrological Department. A strong western disturbance is expected to reach J&K around 24^th January. Probably, there may be more than one disturbance back to back. The weather warning has created panic among the people and apprehensions of a system failure are strong. This is so because of the recent debacle caused by hardly half a foot of snow. The warning says there may be very heavy snowfall and there is possibility of avalanches in higher reaches. The satellite pictures did show a series of western disturbances approaching Kashmir. Our weather in winter is dependent on these western disturbances. It is only recently that the people have got weather conscious. Thanks to Mr. Sonam Lotus, the head of the Metrology Department in Kashmir, even common man is acquainted with the weather forecasts. He has become a household name. His forecast preceding the 2014 devastating flood was most accurate but unfortunately, the government at that time virtually slept over it. The best they could do was to throw bananas from the state helicopter to the marooned people!

In earlier times, the weather was a for granted thing. There was a set pattern. Kashmir used to have four clear seasons unlike other places in the sub-continent. Spring, summer, autumn and winter had very distinct succession. This was before the global climate change. During winter, people expected heavy snowfalls. During one’s childhood sometimes the snow would accumulate almost to the first floor level. People would be prepared for severe winter in every possible way. Firewood bukharis and charcoal for kangris would be stored in advance. The vegetables would be dried in autumn itself. There were no fresh vegetables during winter. There was no mechanized transport and there was no need for road clearance. People would make their own ways for travelling from one locality to the other. People were also alert to shove off snow from roof tops. Most of the time, the winter was an occasion for hibernation and meditation. Early morning Harissa, a dish made from meat and rice was a treat which people enjoyed. Life was going on at a very comfortable pace. Those were the days of fun and relaxation. Heavy snow warnings did not exist!

Then came the “modernization” and the “development”. Everything changed. We became part of the “civilized modern world”! Now we have modern roads with over a million vehicles moving all over; railways, and airlines. The life is fully mechanized and systemized. There is now a well-regulated “system” running our day to day life. However, a small vagary of weather throws everything out of gear and we have the “system failure” causing panic everywhere! The worst part of the panic is our getting totally isolated from the outside world. It is because of our total dependence on the only surface access to the outside world which gets closed with every snowfall. In olden days, before 1947, our all supplies used to come through the Jhelum Valley Road which never closes during winter. The present National Highway which used to be called the “Bannihal Cart Road” was used only in summer.  

While discussing the weather forecasts it must be emphasized that it is very difficult to predict exact weather weeks in advance. One may be able to give a general picture of the possible conditions after studying various parameters which keep on continuously changing. However, with latest satellite technology and computers, it may be possible to give exact weather few days in advance. Again it needs to be updated continuously due to changes in wind speed and direction and the amount of precipitation in the clouds. Even though we may miss the good old days of relaxation and peace, yet to cope up with the changing modern times, we need to be fully abreast of the weather conditions. For this we need to thank Mr. Sonam Lotus for not only making us weather conscious but constantly keeping us up to date about the fast changing conditions. Let us hope and pray that we survive the possible catastrophe predicted by him. The warning not only alerted everyone but is keeping the government also on its toes! Thank you, Mr. Sonam Lotus! People interested in tracking weather through hourly satellite photographs can use the following links:

http://satellite.imd.gov.in/insat.htm                      

http://www.skymetweather.com/insat/weather-satellite-images-of-india/     

Winter Tourism in Kashmir (Kashmir's WHITE GOLD!)

(The mountains surrounding the Valley of Kashmir have some of the best winter sports possibilities in the entire world!)

Kashmir is known throughout the world as the “Paradise on Earth”. During summer it has some of the most attractive resorts like Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and many more. People in millions have been visiting the place in summer both from within the country and abroad. Most of the time it had been promoted as a summer destination. The tourist season used to be limited to five to six months of summer only. Then in sixties winter sports were started in Gulmarg by establishing a Ski School. In fact, it was revival of winter sports which used to be held there in late thirties and early forties of the last century. The Ski Club of India was established by Major Metcarp and Major Headow, two British Army Officers, in 1927 at Gulmarg. Mr.B.N.Pestonji was its first Secretary. Skiing had been introduced as a sport in Gulmarg area almost at the same time as it had started in Alps. Those days all ski competitions were held at Khilanmarg and the pony track was kept open throughout the winter. There were two major events, the Christmas and Easter Competitions. The famous British Sports Equipment Firm, the “Lilywhites” had introduced some trophies for various ski competitions. In fact one of the ski slopes above Khilanmarg is still called the “Lilywhite Slope”. The attendance in the open competition held at Christmas in 1938 was over 500. 

The revival of skiing as a sport was started in early seventies by the setting up of a Ski School by the Ministry of Tourism with UNDP assistance. This is now called the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering. They trained the first batch of instructors. The School started subsequently short ski courses for beginners and also conducted groups. This attracted once again a large number of British Tourists from Hong Kong. Regular ski tours started coming to Gulmarg from Hong Kong in winter. The State Youth and Sports Department also set up a ski school to train local boys and girls. Slowly the sport grew and a large number of ski lovers started coming to Gulmarg. In fact, the slopes of Gulmarg which have been homologated by the World Ski Federation (FIS) are suitable for all international level competition. The National Winter Games have been held at Gulmarg a number of times and the first one was held in March, 1986. Gulmarg has had collaboration with the French and Austrian National Ski Schools. Experts from these Schools have visited and trained instructors from Gulmarg for many years. Also instructors from Gulmarg have gone to France and Austria for advanced ski training. In fact, the boys trained in Gulmarg have come up to International level. In 1986, Ghulam Mohammad Hajam from Gulmarg secured a position among the top six in the Asian Winter Sports held at Sapporo, Japan. Gul Mustafa Dev was the first person from Kashmir to secure a position in the Winter Olympics held in Canada. Even though Gulmarg can be upgraded into a world class ski resort, yet it is not the end in developing winter tourism in Kashmir.

The entire Pir Panjal range has the potential for setting up of a half a dozen ski resorts like Gulmarg. Right from now open Tosa Maidan to Ahrabal there are many places where ski resorts could be set up. Yusmarg, Kungwattan, Dodhpathri and many other similar places. Same is the situation in Lidder and Sindh Valleys. Kashmir has the largest snow area suitable for all kinds of winter sports. Apart from Alpine Skiing in the resorts, it is ideally suited for cross country skiing and ski mountaineering. In the past regular cross country and ski mountaineering groups from abroad were conducted in Lidder valley by some Kashmiri Adventure Tour operators. Then comes the more adventurous sport of heli-skiing which was introduced by the famous Swiss skier Sylvain Saudan called the “Impossible Skier” through his company the Himalayan Heli Ski. It continued even in the worst years of turmoil of the nineties! If one compares the tourism potential of winter and summer, the winter has much more potential than summer. The catch is the clientele. There is not much domestic clientele as there are very few ski resorts in the Himalaya. Only Gulmarg, Narkanda and Auhli. Except Gulmarg the others don’t have very good slopes and snow conditions. Moreover, the accessibility to other two resorts is worse than Gulmarg. Skiing has not yet caught as a craze among the elite of the country like in the western countries.

Europe has millions of skiers who are now looking for newer and less crowded places with equal facilities. In the recent years we have had regular Australian groups as it is summer in Australia when we have winter here. Also sizeable numbers of Russians have been coming to Gulmarg. Recently, the Chinese Ski Association had approached for training their teams in Gulmarg. Kashmir could be the ultimate winter destination for them if the potential is intelligently exploited. To tap this potential the first essential is international accessibility to this area. That can be achieved only after Srinagar airport gets international air connectivity enabling direct international flights to touch down here and also when charters like Goa are allowed here. At the moment it may seem a utopian dream but in the long run it may be one of the most important economic activities. In the meantime, there is need to prepare a comprehensive long term development plan involving foreign collaboration for Winter Tourism in Kashmir.

System Failure!

(Just a foot of snow throws life out of gear which is a system failure due to lack of accountability at the top management level)

Kashmir has seen many heavy snowfalls in the past. In fact, sometimes even three feet of snow has accumulated in a day or so. Because of massive and sudden snow falls in the past the government had imported German snow cutters and snow clearance machines which were being handled by the Mechanical Engineering Department. In western countries these machines are geared up and in fact these start moving as soon as snow starts accumulating. No body waits for the snow to stop to clear it. Few years back when these machines were first commissioned, these too were started as soon as snow had started accumulating on the roads. If the clearance is delayed, it causes ice formation and it is difficult for these machines to remove the ice. One remembers snow clearance in Gulmarg where the machines would be working round the clock, even during the night. These are fitted with heaters in the driving cabin and have huge search lights.

As regards lanes in the various localities in the city, these used to be taken care of by the Municipal Corporation. Even they too had acquired small snow clearance machines good for smaller roads and lanes etc. Some years back the head of the corporation would personally supervise the operation. On the Facebook many missed that dynamic guy. One senior bureaucrat mentioned that unfortunately, favouritism has taken its toll. We have square pegs in round holes! For administration to be successful especially in unusual conditions, it is essential to have the right man in the right place. This depends upon the Chief Executive who has to be familiar with the aptitude and capability of each pivotal officer and make all these officers fully accountable for any laxity in their performance.

The power system was also hit badly but there was comparatively quick recovery. Here, the system and not the personnel handling it are in a mess. We have the worst distribution system anywhere in the world. The low voltage lines at some places pass on trees! At a number of places in the downtown area the individual connections are a jumble of electric wires. It is a miracle that these junctions survive the snowfall and other vagaries of the weather. Keeping the power running is purely due to the efforts and the risks taken by the linemen. Without proper winterized clothing and other safe equipment, they ensure the continuity of the distribution system at great risk to their own lives. In fact, during the recent snowfall, two linemen were electrocuted. Even earlier there have been many instances of these people getting killed during their line of duty. However, they hardly get the commensurate compensation. If a soldier is killed on the border, his dependents get almost 20 lakhs as compensation. Why not the same to the person who loses his life while serving the nation in some other vital capacity?

J & K is supposed to have the highest transmission losses in the country. Apart from that some of the 33 kv lines are very vulnerable to the vagaries of weather especially heavy snowfalls, thunderstorms and so on. Even during the recent snowfall, these lines going out of the main grid station were snapped due to fallen trees. Apart from this the transformers in different localities need continuous monitoring and maintenance. Unfortunately, the consumers are equally guilty for letting the transformers get damaged by overloading the system. Quite often people use more load than what they are supposed to be paying for, by theft of the electric power through illegal hooking of service lines!

In spite of the initial failure, the system did recover by the efforts of the field staff in most of the sectors. The main problem is of management. If the managers have the dedication and capability, the system will work. Ultimately, it boils down to the fact of the entire system being geared up well in advance for such emergencies. This involves many dry runs but that is possible once the top leadership is geared for that. They can only be geared if there is strict accountability at the top level and the right people are placed in the decision making positions. Here one should also take into account the Peter’s Principle of management which says that every person in an organization finally rises to the level of his inefficiency.

While talking about the field staff, one must mention the five month long total shut down. Most of the civic services did work and at least these did not totally collapse simply thanks to the field staff that carried on their work in all situations. It has been observed that the ground level field staff has more interaction with the common people in every locality than the top management level. They need to be encouraged and looked after well by way of equipment, clothing and all other facilities. Incidentally, a senior bureaucrat from outside the state remarked that he does not at all know who the electric lineman is in their area. In fact, he mentioned that there is no need for him to know as the system works automatically in all emergencies. Something similar needs to be done here. Now that we have lived through this minor episode, it would be worthwhile for all concerned to review and gear up all the systems as we still have a long period of winter left. This is more essential in view of the unpredictable weather caused by the climate change all over the world. Let us pray and hope this is done!

Understanding Kashmiri Aspirations

(The motivators of various initiatives to bring peace to Kashmir first need to understand the sentiments and the aspirations of Kashmiris)

An unprecedented uprising has just somewhat abated after five months. The uprising which had been triggered by the killing of a local militant leader of Tral, Burhan Wani had acted as a Tsunami sweeping away everything in its path. Kashmir was virtually at a standstill for almost five months. There was one refrain everywhere, “Azadi”! We may not have seen the end of the unrest but it is essential to understand the basic sentiments and the aspirations which give rise to these unprecedented upheavals. Thinking that the people have been brought to their knees by the use of excessive force and everything is settled would be the usual blunder committed by the authorities after every such uprising!

Some people take Kashmir’s movement for emancipation to have started from early thirties when Kashmiri Muslims rose to demand their basic rights from the autocratic rulers. However, Kashmir’s history does not start in thirties only. If one wants to understand the Kashmir’s present problem and especially the perennial unrest, one has to go back in history to the times when Kashmir lost its sovereignty and was merged into the Mughal Empire.

Since that first take over, Kashmiris never got a breather and had to face the external masters one after the other who by their notorious means of oppression squeezed out every sign of civility, honour and self-respect out of them. Kashmiris have never accepted external rule willingly. They have been fighting external hegemony even before Mughals, right from the era of the Sultans when they fought and chased away the Sayyids. Similar to the present rule in Kashmir engineered by external forces over a period of time, Kashmir was in the same situation in the time of the Sultans.

According to Dr. Abdul Ahad, the historian, “the reign of Sultan Hassan Shah is remembered not for any tangible achievement but for the disrepute he brought to the Sultanate by falling into lap of luxury and pleasure…”The rule was full of corruption and oppression. It was during this period that Malik Ahmad Yatu, the Prime Minister of Hassan Shah invited Sayyids to fight against Tazi Bhat, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sultan. “The Sayyids, a riotous group of great notoriety who had been turned out of the valley for their nefarious designs, not once but twice (by Bud Shah and, subsequently, by Hassan Shah) accepted the invitation and swooped”. They took over Kashmir by their notorious machinations. However, the Kashmiris rose against this external rule and valiantly fought the Sayyids under the leadership of Jahangir Magrey and others. The Sayyids were humiliated and had to surrender and run away. Thus Kashmiris were able to restore their own local rule.

However, the trend set in those early times for inviting outsiders for settling local scores has been Kashmir’s undoing through subsequent periods under Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs and Dogras. This continues even during the present times when people either look towards the Western Countries or to Pakistan to bail them out from the present oppression. The same had been Sheikh Abdullah’s weakness in looking outside for riddance from the autocratic rule of the Maharaja. Had he stood on his own, the things may have turned out quite differently.

It is not correct to claim that the Kashmiris are not a separate nation. By all definitions of nationhood, Kashmiris constitute a nation. Kashmir is the only place in the sub-continent which has a record of written history from the earliest times. Kalhana wrote the earliest book of history in the sub-continent, Raja Tarangani in the twelfth century A.D. Kashmir’s history goes back few thousand years B.C. Throughout the external rule there have been many uprisings. The Shawl Baf’s uprising in 1865 was an attempt against the oppressive external rule. The Silk Factory strike and the presentation of a memorandum to Viceroy of India in October, 1924 was another bid by Kashmiris to throw off the external yolk. The massacre of July, 1931 gave the real impetus to Kashmir’s movement for total freedom from external rule. Sheikh Abdullah was thrown up as a charismatic leader by this movement. It is Kashmir’s misfortune that he got confused and fatigued towards the end and left his people in the lurch!

Kashmir’s political movement has always suffered by the personality cult nourished and encouraged by outsiders. However, the present day youth are no longer looking at the “Gods that fail”, the name a friend had given to this personalised leadership in his article some time back. Although some forces are still trying to prop up various new leaders or “Gods”, yet the youth do not follow these blindly. The days of “Ala Kari Wangan Kari, Bab Kari” are gone now. As shown in the last couple of agitations in 2008, and 2010, the youth rose en masse on their own because of convictions and it is the” Gods” who had to follow the youth. Attributing the idea of Independent Kashmir to Sheikh Abdullah is a gross mistake. Attainment of absolute freedom is ground in the psyche of every Kashmiri because of the centuries of external suppression. Sheikh Abdullah only voiced it openly. It may be a debatable question whether an independent Kashmir is possible or not in the present circumstances but no one can deny that every honest Kashmiri has always desired absolute freedom. A place where he could live with dignity and honour and could walk with his head held high.

There have always been attempts to cloud the Kashmiri aspirations by confusion and irrelevant debate. Recent comments of a bureaucrat are a typical example of this deliberate confusion. As Immanuel Kant while describing the “Theory of Causality” says in his “Critique of Pure Reason”, one gives a thesis, then anti-thesis and then tries to have synthesis but ends up by creating what he calls the “Dialectical Illusion”! It would be better not to confound the reality but to accept the fact that the Kashmiris have certain basic sentiments and aspirations which need to be attended to without wasting any more time. All the peace initiatives, dialogues and the reconciliatory efforts should start with that premise. There can be no lasting peace without that. We will go on witnessing storms and tornados off and on till that is done.

Triggering a “Twister”!

(Americans call tornado a twister. Kashmir has just seen a political storm which seems abating now but the Central Government by its actions may unleash a twister now!)

Since 2008, Kashmir has seen at least three mass uprisings. Even though the issues which triggered these upheavals were different yet the outburst had similar theme, demanding “Azadi” or freedom. The question is why have people been driven to this extreme?  There are no two opinions that the major cause of alienation is the excessive use of force and an overwhelming security grid all over the valley. Kashmir has been converted into a security camp. The civilian side is conspicuous by its absence. The most visible presence everywhere in the urban as well as rural areas of the valley is of security forces of all hues and shades with no accountability. The authorities are still debating and discussing whether there should be some accountability. The main trigger for the current uprising was the killing of the militant leader Burhan Wani. The story about his taking up a gun has been told and retold many times. He was virtually driven to it by excessive use of force by the security forces. Apart from this, the other causes for the present upheaval were the continuous BJP campaign to end the special status of the State. In fact, the betrayal of PDP in regard to keeping BJP out of Kashmir acted like an accelerator to the uprising which was more pronounced in the South, supposed to be the stronghold of PDP.

Kashmiri has most of the time been an unpredictable character. In the middle of an uprising which breaks out like a storm one gets the feeling that the game is over and soon Kashmir would be “free” but then comes a time when one wonders whether the storm was real or just an illusion? A person who visits Kashmir during a political storm and the days of calm would be totally confused. The reason often given especially by historians is the centuries of oppression which have sharpened the survival instincts of a Kashmiri. He knows when to rise and when to stop but never gives up! As a British author in his book about Kashmir has remarked. “An outsider can never know what is really in the heart of a Kashmiri”! He never genuinely and truly opens up before an outsider. According to the author, a kind word and a joke get the best out of a Kashmiri!

The last three turmoils in the valley (2008, 2010 and 2016) have brought a change in the thinking of a section of the Indian Civil Society and there is appreciable sympathy for the sufferings of the Kashmiris. This has been more so during the current year because of the excessive use of force especially the use of pellet guns on basically non-violent and peaceful spontaneous outpourings of the people all over the valley which erupted after the killing of Burhan Wani. The violence started only after these marches and protests were disallowed by the authorities through harshest possible violent means. The authorities in New Delhi and Srinagar put all the blame on Pakistan notwithstanding the fact that neutral observers from all over the world emphatically stated that the uprising was indigenous. Well, Pakistanis will always try to use any opportunity to make India uncomfortable. It is the same story on both sides! Indians have always tried to overlook the fact that the stone pelting or other violence is a reaction to the suppression of peaceful protests.

People are confused regarding the outcome of the recent 5 month long agitation. Did it achieve anything? There are several views on the subject. Some feel that the greatest achievement has been the revival of the dormant Kashmir dispute. The issue had been put on the back-burner by both the Indian authorities and the world at large. Even though the problem of Kashmir continues somewhat still to be on the back burner for the west and the world at large in view of numerous other hot spots, yet the certain Indian intellectuals seem to be more concerned now about its final resolution. They have been freely airing their views and some have even visited Kashmir in the recent times.

In the past, the tactics being used by New Delhi were ones for conflict management and not for final resolution of the problem. They were able to buy time. One would have thought that they would consider the fact that the traditional leadership itself is confused and are in the dark about the future plans of the new generation. The new generation should have been spoken to. They could use the small window made available by the onset of winter which is usually a time for hibernation in Kashmir. Everything freezes under a blanket of snow but the spring is not far behind!

The so called mainstream politicians presently ruling the state who were slightly singed by the scorching heat of the turmoil have been busy in a disinformation campaign. They are repeatedly taking the line that the 5 month agitation was externally sponsored and has only got misery and disruption for the common people. Probably, they have a feeling that they may lose the power if New Delhi decides to act earnestly in resolving the problem. However, as an anti-climax, the New Delhi has gone a step beyond them and has, in fact, initiated  measures for not only creating a new storm but virtually a tornado which may suck and sweep everything in its path!

Normally, after the abating of the storm one would have expected the Central Government to extend fullest support to the State Government to ameliorate the storm damages by way of full assistance in day to day problems including the worst power scenario, dilapidated roads, and general economic losses and so on. They should have been in addition, trying their best to open an unconditional dialogue with all the sections of the society including the new “Burhan Generation”. However, on the contrary for their short term gains in the forthcoming elections, they are creating conditions for a real twister to hit the state soon which may sweep and suck everything in its path! SARFAESI and WPRs may be the first triggers for that!

Flood protection measures

(In spite of a lapse of more than two years, one is still waiting for the execution of the urgent and credible flood protection measures leaving an option open for the next disaster!)

The most destructive flood in a century occurred in Kashmir in September, 2014. It was an unprecedented disaster in our living memory. Even though the loss of human lives was very low, not more than 50 or so but the destruction of property was immense. There used to be floods earlier but not such a massive one in recent times. No doubt, the valley is prone to floods which have been occurring from time to time but the scale of this flood got heightened by our own material greed. It was Nature’s backlash which we had been vandalizing mercilessly for a long time. The River Jhelum has been meandering through the valley from the earliest times. Also known as the Vitasta or Yveth, it has been the lifeline of Kashmir Valley from the earliest times. The entire Kashmir civilisation has been growing along the banks of the River and its tributaries. After the mythological Kashyapa drained the Sati Sar by killing the demon Jalodhbhava at Baramulla, the River has been written in the very first line of the thousands of years old history of Kashmir. Like the Sholokhov’s “Quiet Flows the Don”. Jhelum too has been quietly flowing and observing the happenings on its banks. However, it often turns furious when too many sins get washed into it!

The River which gave life to Kashmir has been vandalised and desecrated by us. The muck and filth of almost entire Kashmir is made to flow into the River. Its banks have been encroached in most places especially in the city of Srinagar. For last half a century or so no one has bothered to dredge it and take away the silt. Over and above everything else its flood basin has been snatched and converted into colonies. Where else will it go except overflow its banks and sometimes may even change course. Most of the wetlands and water bodies have either been filled up or encroached upon. The historical channel Nala-i-Mar has been filled up and converted into a road. We have hardly left any space for the extra water to flow in anywhere.  In the catchment areas, most of the rain water would get absorbed but now it runs down straight as we have totally denuded the catchment area of the River. One cannot rule out sudden disastrous floods in future especially because of the universal climate change. Reclaiming all the earlier back-ups to prevent floods may take time. We need to go for immediate protective measures.

The government has been brooding over many schemes for prevention of floods and protection for the city areas. However, the progress on ground is abnormally slow. The most important aspect is the dredging of the River and its flood spill over channel and strengthening of its embankments especially in the city of Srinagar a major portion of which was submerged in the last flood. During the short spell of Governor’s rule, the dredging operation had been started through some Kolkata based firm. However, there were some mechanical problems and the fate of the project is not known. If one travels along the Bund in the city or along the embankments of the flood spill-over channel, nothing substantial seems to have been done. Instead, the dug up soil is in huge mounds all along the channel. Just 10 feet of water will spill over the embankments.

Instead of waiting for mechanised dredging, in the lean water season of winter one could go ahead with even manual dredging giving some employment to the idle youth. During the recent uprising, most of the outside labour had run away and it was heartening to see Kashmiri youth fully engaged in most of the manual tasks. Our greatest misfortune has been the loss of the dignity of manual labour. The youth seem to have been brainwashed to get government jobs at the lowest level in spite of very high educational qualifications. The new generation in Kashmir has lot of entrepreneurship and is fully involved in varied number of projects. They could be involved in taking up the assignment of dredging the River and the flood spill-over channel and strengthening the embankments in a semi-mechanised way. Same holds good for all water bodies and wetlands.

However, to undertake such an enterprise one needs someone like Hakeem Suyya of the historical times! Kashmir is now really searching for someone like Hakeem Suyya. There is no guarantee that the tragedy may not recur! One can only implore the concerned not to wait for Hakeem Suyya to be reborn but take immediate steps to initiate and complete the flood prevention measures on an accelerated pace. The Chief Minister has shown that she can exercise her prerogative if she wants to. This is the most important sector in which exercise of such a prerogative is needed. Let us hope she does it? Waiting for the next flood would be the ultimate disaster!