Controlling The Narrative On Kashmir
Around a month ago, people started speculating that something momentous was going to happen in Kashmir when they first heard about massive troop deployment. But they did not know what exactly was going to happen. Gone were the days when some journalists, along with powerbrokers, had unimpeded access to the corridors of power and could tell well in advance what was going to happen. As such access was curtailed some years ago, even the influential journalists were groping in the dark and joined the speculative brigade.
Smokescreen of political correctness
When it comes to Kashmir, everybody wants to be politically correct. People would manifest their political correctness by supporting Article 370, by condemning the so-called atrocities perpetrated by Indian army on the people of Kashmir, and by using all those Urdu words such as Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaaniyat to romanticize the separatist tendencies prevalent in the state. Had all those ‘yats’ been true, more than four lakh Kashmiri Pandit Hindu families would not have been subjected to untold atrocities, which led to their exodus. People have had enough of this falsehood and are truly fed up with its banality. This false narrative kept Kashmir problem burning for a long time imposing an unacceptable burden on India in terms of resources spent and lives lost. It also became an instrument in the hands of Pakistan to implement its sinister plan of bleeding India with a thousand cuts as part of its Ghazwa-E-Hind mission.
It’s time we looked through the smokescreen of political correctness and see the truth. The truth is many people are heartbroken after their plans of establishing a Dar-al-Islam in Kashmir and expanding it into Jammu and Ladakh through Jihad are shattered.
Status Quoism of Pseudo-Secularists
All the so-called secular parties strongly support Article 370 because they intend to preserve the status of Kashmir as a Muslim majority state by continuing with their appeasement politics. Now, it is a well-known fact that these so-called secular parties are known for their brazen double standards. If Hindus in the rest of India want to preserve their identity and hold on to their turf by opposing the systematic infiltration of many Indian states by Bangladeshis or Rohingyas, they are portrayed as Hindu bigots. These people, who don’t leave any opportunity to accuse Modi government of promoting Hindu majoritarianism, strongly promote the brute Muslim majoritarianism in Kashmir which deprived other communities such as Valmikis and Kashmiri Pundits without any basic rights.
While pursuing their double standards, they change their goalposts constantly and continuously to suit their narrative. When the Islamist bigots take to streets and pelt stones at the army men they say, “poor Kashmiris, unemployment is forcing them to take to streets”. But when the government removes article 370 citing the reason that it impeded the development of Kashmir, they again dig out some statistics to claim that Kashmir is more developed than Gujarat. Their behavior makes it amply clear that they are not interested in truth but only in peddling their false narrative.
Fifth Column Turns Active
There were many politicians and activists who challenged the government to abrogate Article 370. They always felt that no government can muster up enough courage to revoke the article and that is exactly the reason they were left stunned the day the bold step was announced.
It appears that Congress party, which is falling into oblivion after seemingly never-ending electoral defeats, appears to be venting its anger and frustration by making utterly treacherous statements which are in line with the Pakistani propaganda. First, one of its leaders, while participating in the debate in Lok Sabha on article 370, invoked the UN by stating that Kashmir is not India’s internal matter. This statement was followed by another atrocious statement made by Mani Shankar Aiyar who likened Kashmir with Palestine. As if these are not enough, P Chidambaram, who notoriously coined the term “Hindu Terror” communalized the government’s decision by stating that had Kashmir been a Hindu majority state the BJP would not have revoked the said article. He, however, could not comprehend the simple fact that had Kashmir been a Hindu majority state such an article would not have been necessitated in the first place.
In fact, one Pakistani commentator even identified Arundhati Roy, Mamata Banerjee, Congress party and Communist party as the people and organizations, who could help them in winning the battle of narratives against India.
Communists leaders such as Kavita Krishnan are also leading campaigns to instigate tensions in Kashmir with an intention to defame India in the international arena. Communists, who deified the mass murderers such as Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot and don’t leave any opportunity to hail China, which is de-Islamizing the Uighur Muslims through brutal means by putting them in concentration camps, are talking about democracy and accusing the government of suppressing the democratic rights of the people of Kashmir.
After A Long Time, A Bold Step
After a long time, the Indian government has shown the spine and taken a bold and courageous decision to unite the entire nation by withdrawing the special privileges granted to Kashmir. This has realized the dream of the people to have one nation, one constitution and one flag. This bold step certainly goes a long way in inculcating a sense of oneness among the people of Jammu & Kashmir and save them from falling into the terror hellhole Pakistan has prepared for them. The government has managed the situation in Kashmir in an effective manner in the aftermath of junking the discriminatory article. So far, no fatalities were reported. Hopefully, peace will prevail in the newly-born union territory, which will pave way for its prosperity.
Guard Against Vulnerabilities
Open democracies are very vulnerable to fake news and false outrages. There are many breaking India forces, which are waiting like vultures to spread fake news to manufacture a false outrage with an express intention to spin the anti-India narrative they want to peddle. Because they want bloodshed on the streets of Kashmir so that they can scavenge on the dead and pave way for rogue Pakistan to do something wicked to attract the world’s attention. As the curbs are being lifted and telephone and internet services are being restored, Pakistan and the fifth column in India will go all guns blazing to whip up passions and cook up trouble. This is exactly the eventuality we Indians must resolutely guard against.
